Ukraine claimed responsibility this Friday for several attacks against a Russian railway line in Siberia, thousands of kilometers from the front, the latest incident of sabotage reported on Russian territory.
Russian authorities have suffered multiple attacks against their transportation infrastructure since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But it is the first time they have occurred so far from the front.
The first attack took place on Wednesday night in the Besolov tunnel in Severomouisk, the longest in Russia, a source from the Ukrainian security forces (SBU) told AFP.
The second targeted an alternative route on the track, to which rail traffic was diverted after the first attack, the source said.
“The Russians fell into the SBU trap twice: another fuel train exploded on the Baikal-Amur railway” when “it was passing over a bridge 35 meters high,” he added.
The SBU declined to comment on these claims and there was no immediate reaction from the Russian side regarding the latest incident.
The Telegram channel Baza, close to the Russian security services and followed by more than a million users, reported on Friday that “sabotage” had caused explosions on two trains “in the same area” of Buryatia.
Russia announced on Friday that it detained a citizen with dual Russian and Italian nationality, suspected of carrying out sabotage attacks against a railway and an air base, under orders from Ukraine.
Investigators opened an investigation into Wednesday’s incident, according to sources cited by the Kommersant business daily.
“The Russian special services should get used to the fact that our people are everywhere. Even in distant Buryatia,” the Ukrainian source told AFP.
The Baikal-Amur line is more than 4,000 kilometers long and runs along the borders of China and Mongolia.