---
title: "Occupants Force Children and Elderly into Gas Pipeline in Kupyansk Region to Cover Retreat"
description: "In the Kupyansk region, Russian occupants forced children and elderly people into a gas pipeline to cover their retreat, recorded by Ukrainian drones."
date: 2026-09-28T10:20:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/occupants-force-civilians-into-gas-pipeline-kupyansk
tags: [kupyansk, kharkiv-region, war-crimes, ukraine-war, national-guard]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Occupants Force Children and Elderly into Gas Pipeline in Kupyansk Region to Cover Retreat

![Drone still: a group of people inside an industrial gas pipeline in the Kupyansk region](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/28/okkupanty-zagnali-grazhdanskih-v-gazoprovod-na-kupyanschine/okkupanty-zagnali-grazhdanskih-v-gazoprovod-na-kupyanschine-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Russian troops used civilians to cover their retreat in the Kupyansk region
- Ukrainian drones recorded a group of nine people, including children and elderly, inside a gas pipeline
- Draft-age men disguised in civilian clothes moved alongside civilians
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine refrained from firing due to the presence of civilians
- Materials have been handed over to investigate a potential war crime

Russian military personnel used civilians as a human shield during their retreat from the Kupyansk community in the Kharkiv region. On the afternoon of September 27, Ukrainian reconnaissance drones recorded a vulnerable group of people forced to move through an industrial gas pipeline.

### Chronicle of the Incident in the Kupyansk Sector

This outrageous case was reported by the official resources of the 2nd National Guard Corps of Ukraine "Khartia". According to the military, occupation forces were leading civilians out of the Kupyansk community amid successful counteroffensive actions by Ukrainian defense forces. Published aerial reconnaissance footage clearly shows nine people, including young children, elderly individuals, and a person with reduced mobility moving on crutches. Draft-age men in civilian clothes were spotted nearby, whom Ukrainian fighters identified as disguised Russian servicemen trying to evade fire.

### Tactic of Using Gas Pipes

It is worth noting that communication pipes and gas pipelines are not being used for the first time as part of the Russian army's tactics in this sector of the front. Previously, such underground arteries and technological channels were actively used by Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups for covert penetration and movement in the rear of Ukrainian positions. However, this time the pipe was utilized to organize the retreat of a mixed group that intentionally included vulnerable categories of civilians.

### Contradictory Data

While Ukrainian intelligence structures and analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report local successes of the defense forces in the Kharkiv direction and the successful liberation of territory between Dvorichna and Zapadne, official reports from the Kupyansk area reflect an extremely complex and dynamic situation. Some sources report a deterioration of the situation in certain areas and enemy counterattack attempts, creating an information gap between the general strategic advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and local humanitarian crises in the gray zone that require thorough verification analysis.

### Humanitarian and Legal Consequences

Despite visual contact with the group and the understanding of the possible presence of enemy combatants, Ukrainian servicemen consciously refrained from opening fire, avoiding inevitable casualties among the civilian hostages. All gathered evidence, including UAV video footage, has already been documented and will be transferred to international and national investigative bodies to qualify the actions of the Russian command as a war crime.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Оккупанты загнали детей и пожилых людей в газопровод на Купянщине, чтобы прикрыть отступление (видео)](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/okupanti-zagnali-ditey-i-litnih-lyudey-gazogin-1790590612.html) - Первичный источник новости с детальным описанием видеозаписи БПЛА.
- [Россияне снова лезут в Купянск по газовой трубе, – военные](https://www.unian.net/war/voyna-v-ukraine-rossiyane-probirayutsya-v-kupyansk-po-trubam-novosti-harkova-13360995.html) - Контекст использования газовых труб российскими диверсантами на фронте.
- [Ситуация в районе Купянска ухудшилась, россияне смогли немного продвинуться, - Трегубов](https://www.unian.net/war/kupyansk-situaciya-uhudshilas-rossiyane-smogli-nemnogo-prodvinutsya-novosti-harkova-13368633.html) - Контекст использования газовых труб российскими диверсантами на фронте.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Where exactly was the gas pipeline incident recorded?
**A:** The event took place in the Kupyansk community of the Kharkiv region on September 27.

### Q: Who was in the group of people alongside the military?
**A:** According to aerial reconnaissance, the group included children, elderly people, a person on crutches, and draft-age men in civilian clothes.

### Q: Why did the Ukrainian military not open fire on the group?
**A:** The Armed Forces of Ukraine refrained from shooting due to the presence of civilians, children, and elderly people.