KURSK REGION. March 12 (Interfax) - The operation using a gas pipeline, during which a unit of over 600 Russian troops penetrated the Ukrainian Armed Forces' lines in the Kursk region, has been instrumental in developing the offensive operation there, Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff Valery Gerasimov said.
"Using a pipeline of the gas transport system, assault troops of this combined unit numbering over 600 people moved ahead for some 15 kilometers inside it and exited in the depth of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' lines," Gerasimov said in a report to President Vladimir Putin.
"These actions took the enemy by surprise and prompted it to scale down its defense, while facilitating our offensive in the Kursk region," Gerasimov said.
The operation was conducted by members of the Veterans unit, the 11th Air Assault Brigade, the 30th Motorized Infantry Regiment, and the Akhmat special taskforce, he said.