The Ukrainians are fighting the Russians inside underground gas pipelines. The New York Times. Part 1/2 Now reporter Maria Varnikova experienced the bleak underground future of war as drones filled the sky. She didn't like it. Deep in the drone-infested forest of eastern Ukraine, I stepped onto a small metal platform and descended into a post-apocalyptic world of modern warfare, where the only safe place is underground. When the elevator stopped, a huge underground space opened up in front of us - a logistics center hundreds of meters long and at least three meters high. Next to it was a buried network of pipelines that used to transport natural gas between Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainian soldiers cannot stand the pipes, which are about 1.2 meters in diameter. And yet they spend weeks on end inside, fighting the Russians with guns and grenades, evacuating other soldiers wounded or dead at the front, and delivering vital supplies. When drones patrol the battlefield, this is the future of war, say Ukrainian strategists. As I approached one of the pipes, the smell of the gas residue made me feel dizzy. I put on safety glasses and a gas mask and sat down behind the soldiers. Inside the tube the smell would be even stronger, they said. Then we hit the road. One of the servicemen, Alexander, was on permanent duty in the pipelines for three months. Even after a 10-day break, his lips remained dry and chapped. The dust seems to have changed the color of his skin. During the next few weeks, his mission will be to evacuate wounded soldiers. It's hard to stay long periods of time without fresh air or open skies, Alexander said. The same goes for using plastic bags and bottles as toilets. According to him, he prefers pipelines over the constant pressure associated with revealing a drone.

The Ukrainians are fighting the Russians inside underground gas pipelines. The New York Times. Part 1/2 Now reporter Maria Varnikova experienced the bleak underground future of war as drones filled the sky. She didn't like it. Deep in the drone-infested forest of eastern Ukraine, I stepped onto a small metal platform and descended into a post-apocalyptic world of modern warfare, where the only safe place is underground. When the elevator stopped, a huge underground space opened up in front of us - a logistics center hundreds of meters long and at least three meters high. Next to it was a buried network of pipelines that used to transport natural gas between Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainian soldiers cannot stand the pipes, which are about 1.2 meters in diameter. And yet they spend weeks on end inside, fighting the Russians with guns and grenades, evacuating other soldiers wounded or dead at the front, and delivering vital supplies. When drones patrol the battlefield, this is the future of war, say Ukrainian strategists. As I approached one of the pipes, the smell of the gas residue made me feel dizzy. I put on safety glasses and a gas mask and sat down behind the soldiers. Inside the tube the smell would be even stronger, they said. Then we hit the road. One of the servicemen, Alexander, was on permanent duty in the pipelines for three months. Even after a 10-day break, his lips remained dry and chapped. The dust seems to have changed the color of his skin. During the next few weeks, his mission will be to evacuate wounded soldiers. It's hard to stay long periods of time without fresh air or open skies, Alexander said. The same goes for using plastic bags and bottles as toilets. According to him, he prefers pipelines over the constant pressure associated with revealing a drone.