Ukraine blows up 2 railway connections between Russia and China - POLITICO Europe

Ukraine’s security service blew up railway connections linking Russia to China, in a clandestine strike carried out deep into enemy territory, with pro-Kremlin media reporting that investigators have opened a criminal case into a “terrorist attack.”

The SBU set off several explosions inside the Severomuysky tunnel of the Baikal-Amur highway in Buryatia, located some 6,000 kilometers east of Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official with direct knowledge of the operation told POLITICO.

“This is the only serious railway connection between the Russian Federation and China. And currently, this route, which Russia uses, including for military supplies, is paralyzed,” the official said.

Four explosive devices went off while a cargo train was moving inside the tunnel. “Now the (Russian) Federal Security Service is working on the spot, the railway workers are unsuccessfully trying to minimize the consequences of the SBU special operation,” the Ukrainian official added.

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Later, another train was blown up in the same area on a bypass route, pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Baza reported.

Four carriages burned out, and two more were damaged by fire. According to preliminary data, aviation fuel on the second cargo train was spilled over an area of 150 square meters. The same senior Ukrainian official with direct knowledge of the matter said the SBU was also behind the second railroad incident.

The first cargo train exploded directly in the Severomuysky tunnel.

To continue transportation, the Russians began to use the detour route through the so-called Devil’s Bridge — a 35-meter high viaduct structure, which is part of the Trans-Siberian Railway. At that point, SBU saboteurs struck again.

“When the train was passing over this 35-meter high bridge, the explosive devices embedded in it went off,” the same official added.

Ukraine’s security service has not publicly confirmed the attack. Russia has also so far not confirmed the sabotage.

“On the Itikit — Okusykan stretch in Buryatia, while driving through the tunnel, the locomotive crew of the cargo train noticed smoke from one of the diesel fuel tanks. The train was stopped, and two fire extinguishing trains were sent from nearby towns to help. The movement of trains was not interrupted, it was organized along a bypass section with a slight increase in travel time,” Russia’s state railroad company RZHD said in a statement on Thursday.

“Russian special services should get used to the fact that our people are everywhere. Even in distant Buryatia,” the Ukrainian official warned.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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