A freight train derailed in western Russia after an explosive device was detonated on the rail tracks, according to the local governor. No one was hurt in the incident, but rail traffic in the area has been suspended. This comes after power lines were blown up in northern Russia on the same day. The FSB security service has called it an “act of sabotage”. The attacks occurred a day after a Ukrainian strike killed four people in a Russian village in the Bryansk region. Kyiv is expected to launch a counter-offensive soon.
There have been reports of sabotage acts on railroads in Russia and Belarus throughout Russia’s year-long Ukraine offensive, but this is the first time Russian officials have confirmed an attack of that scale. Footage on social media showed the front of the train and several cargo carriages on fire and lying on the grass next to the tracks. Russian Railways said that the incident took place between the town of Unecha and the village of Rassukha.
Earlier on the same day, power lines were blown up by an explosive device in northern Russia, according to the governor of the Leningrad region. The lines were damaged near the village of Susanino, south of Saint Petersburg. The FSB security service has opened a criminal case on “sabotage”.
Majid Alam is a Senior Sub Editor at News18.com.
