The article provides examples of critical damage to a long-running gas pipeline on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), which arose as a result of the development of corrosion processes, discusses the mechanisms and scenarios for the development of corrosion damage in the cryolithozone conditions. Considering the processes and mechanisms, they continue for a long period of time., an increase in the number of damages to a gas main pipeline due to corrosive degradation is expected in the near future. The stage of diffuse damage during long-term operation is confirmed by the increasing loss of working capacity due to corrosion damage in the last 25 years of the pipeline operation
