Russian troops may have used civilians as human shields during retreat near Kupiansk
Russian troops (photo: Getty Images)
Russian troops retreating from the Kupiansk community in the Kharkiv region may have used civilians as cover. On September 27, Ukrainian reconnaissance drones spotted a group of people moving through a gas pipeline, according to the 2nd Khartiia Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine.
According to the military, Russian forces were moving civilians out of the Kupiansk community amid counteroffensive operations by Ukrainian forces. The group may have included Russian servicemen who were trying to leave the area under the cover of civilians.
The video shows nine people, including children, elderly people, and a person using crutches. Men of military age in civilian clothing can also be seen moving alongside them.
Ukraine’s Khartiia Corps says its reconnaissance drones recorded Russian troops removing civilians from the Kupyansk community on September 27 and forcing them into the Shebelinka-Ostrogozhsk gas pipeline. The group included children, elderly people and a person on crutches.… pic.twitter.com/imIipKlOXd
— NOELREPORTS (@NOELreports) September 28, 2026
Khartiia believes that these men may have been Russian servicemen. According to the Ukrainian side, they may have removed their uniforms and changed into civilian clothes in order to leave the area together with civilians and avoid being targeted.
Ukrainian troops spotted the group but did not open fire because civilians, including children and elderly people, were present. The corps believes that the Russian servicemen may have been counting on this.
The gas pipeline, which Russian sabotage groups had previously used for covert movement, may therefore have served this time as a route for retreat alongside civilians.
The incident has already been documented. The collected materials are expected to be handed over for an investigation into a possible war crime.
In early September, Ukrainian forces regained control of another 4 square kilometers of territory in the Kupiansk sector. The operation took place in the Kharkiv region between the settlements of Dvorichna and Zapadne.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to advance. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have recorded Ukrainian gains along several axes in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
