The Sun examines pipeline warfare near Kupiansk and Moscow drone strikes
Jerome Starkey's Frontline briefing connects attacks on Russian infrastructure with underground fighting in Ukraine, drawing an unusually fast start.
The Sun
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 802,746 views a day, 17 times a normal first day on this channel (47,188).
Moscow under attack as Russian oil on brink of bankruptcy and Ukrainian soldier fight underground
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 0:46Starkey reviews reported Ukrainian drone attacks disrupting Moscow airports and Russian civil aviation.
- 3:06Citing Bloomberg, he examines falling Rosneft profits and rising debt amid attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.
- 5:12Footage shows soldiers navigating underground pipelines near Kupiansk during fighting in Kharkiv Oblast.
- 7:06The briefing examines Ukrainian strikes on Russian supply routes across occupied southern Ukraine toward Crimea.
- 8:44Starkey reviews Russian drone and missile barrages against Ukrainian cities, including deadly strikes in Kharkiv.
- 14:42The focus turns to joint British-French nuclear air drills and a British artillery barrel factory.
Soldiers move through underground pipelines near Kupiansk in footage featured in Jerome Starkey's latest Frontline briefing. It is the ground-level counterpart to the long-range drone campaign that opens the program: two very different ways of reaching positions Russia must defend.
The Sun's defense editor begins with reported Ukrainian attacks disrupting Moscow's airports, before examining strikes across Russia and their effect on oil infrastructure. Citing Bloomberg, Starkey says Rosneft's profits are falling while its debt is increasing. That is a more specific account of financial pressure than the video's sweeping title claim that Russian oil is on the brink of bankruptcy.
Near Kupiansk, the focus shifts from aircraft and refineries to soldiers navigating enclosed underground routes. Starkey then examines Ukrainian attacks on supply lines across occupied southern Ukraine toward Crimea. Together, these sections explain the briefing's central military theme: pressure on the routes and infrastructure that sustain Russian operations.
The episode also covers Russian drone and missile barrages against Ukrainian cities, including deadly strikes in Kharkiv, before moving into diplomacy and European military preparations.
The briefing drew roughly 426,000 views within nine hours, well beyond The Sun's usual full-day audience for regular videos. Several older Ukraine analyses also crossed a million views, including installments of Philip Ingram's Battle Plans and an interview with Bill Browder.
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- Channel
- The Sun
- Subscribers
- 6,550,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 9,860,634
- Channel views, pace per day
- 1,578,415 (on a normal day: 1,412,034)
- Video published
- October 23, 2026
- Video views so far
- 426,067 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 802,746
The numbers
This Frontline episode is running far ahead of The Sun's usual start for regular videos. Its projected first-day total is an estimate, not a completed day's views.
