Themabeeld — © Russian Railways/TASS/Sipa USA
Ukrainian intelligence service SBU says it has carried out two sabotage operations on trains transporting fuel in the Russian republic of Buryatia, more than 5,000 km from Kiev. This is what a source within the Ukrainian security service said. Moscow considers the freight train explosion an act of terror, Kommersant writes.
Source: BELGA
Friday, December 1, 2023 at 3:00 PM
Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Kiev has already carried out several attacks on Russian territory, but this attack is the first to take place thousands of kilometers from the front.
The first attack happened on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, in the Severomoysk tunnel. At 15 km, the tunnel is the longest in Russia. According to the Ukrainian source, four explosive devices were detonated as the train passed. A section of railway to which train traffic was diverted after the first attack was targeted in a second attack.
The tunnel is located on the Baikal-Amur Railway, a railway line that runs parallel to the Trans-Siberian Railway. The SBU is trying to shut down the Baikal-Amur rail link, it sounds.
The Russian railways spoke on Telegram on Thursday about a fire on a train transporting fuel. Rail traffic was diverted, but there were no further consequences, it said. There was no official information from Moscow about the incident afterwards.
The Telegram channel Baza, which is said to be close to the Russian security services, reported on Friday “sabotage” that led to explosions on two trains in Buryatia. Like Kommersant, Baza also writes that an investigation for terrorism has been opened.
A little earlier on Friday, authorities had reported the arrest of a Russian Italian allegedly recruited by the Ukrainian military intelligence service GUR and suspected of sabotage. He is accused of a drone attack on a Russian military airport in July and an explosion that led to the derailment of a freight train.