The European edition of the "Politico" news network quoted Ukrainian sources on December 1 as saying that Ukrainian security agencies launched an attack on the railway line about 6,000 kilometers deep into Russian territory, and Russian media said that Russian investigators characterized the incident as a "terrorist attack". According to Reuters, just one day after the attack, the Russian train was attacked by the Ukrainian side on the bypass route.
In the first attack, a senior Ukrainian ** with direct knowledge of the operation told the "Politico" news network that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched an attack on the Severomuya Mountain Tunnel in the Russian Republic of Buryatia, and when a freight train passed through the tunnel, the Ukrainian side detonated four ** devices at the same time. The Severo-Muya Tunnel is a section of the main Baikal-Amur railway line, which was put into operation in December 2003 with a total length of 15At 3 km, it is the longest railway tunnel in Russia.
Russia also uses this railway line to transport military supplies, which is currently paralyzed. Later, the FSB went to the scene to deal with the situation, and the railway workers tried to minimize the impact, "but without success," the Ukrainian said.
Reuters said it could not confirm whether the attacked railway line was actually used for military resupply.
Russian Railways railway-news**.
The Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement that on the evening of November 29, local time, a train carrying fuel was in the tunnel, without personnel, and the cause of the accident is currently under preliminary investigation. Russian Railways, which operates the line, said crews noticed smoke coming from a section of the train's tank car** loaded with diesel fuel, and then the train stopped. The company's statement said that the relevant rail traffic had been diverted and the journey time had increased slightly, but the transportation had not been interrupted.
Russia's Kommersant newspaper quoted anonymous sources on December 1 as saying that Russian investigators confirmed that ** had occurred on the railway line and characterized the incident as a "terrorist attack" carried out by unknown persons.
In order to continue the delivery of supplies, Russian trains began to detour to the Chertov Bridge, which is part of the Trans-Siberian Railway. According to foreign media, at this moment, Ukraine ** struck again.
Politician" news network quoted the Ukrainian senior ** as saying, "When the train passed the 35-meter-high bridge, the installed ** device was detonated".
Schematic map of the locations of the two railway line attacks by the BBC.
Reuters also reported on the attack on December 1. A Ukrainian source said on the same day that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had penetrated thousands of kilometers into Russian territory and launched an attack on another Russian railway line. The explosives were detonated while a freight train was passing the Chertov Bridge in the Republic of Buryatia. Buryatia shares a border with Mongolia and is thousands of kilometers from Ukraine.
A Russian industry source, who asked not to be named, said that after the second attack, Russian freight trains had begun to use alternate lines on the afternoon of December 1 local time.
At present, Russian and Ukrainian officials have not responded to the above attacks.
Reuters reported that the attacks appear to indicate that Ukraine is ready and capable of launching destructive attacks inside Russia and disrupting Russian logistics far from the front lines.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed out at a press conference after the meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that Russia does not see signs that Ukraine and Western countries are ready to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means, according to TASS on December 1**.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in an announcement on the same day through social media that according to the order signed by Putin on November 29, 2023, the total strength of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation increased by 170,000 to 1.32 million.
* According to the Ministry of Defense, in the current situation, a further increase in the combat strength and size of the armed forces is an appropriate response to the "aggressive activities" of the NATO bloc.
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