In a recent series of events, Ukraine** penetrated deep into the Russian Far East and successfully carried out a remarkable sabotage operation. They reportedly utilized four time bombs to be installed on a freight train and detonated after the train entered the tunnel, leading to a chain reaction of destruction. First, there was a ** incident in the North Moya Tunnel of the Baia-Aa Railway, where a freight train was blown up. Subsequently, in order to get around this damaged tunnel, another train took a detour route, but unfortunately, when the train passed through the so-called "Devil's Bridge", there was also a ** incident, which resulted in the bridge and the train being completely damaged. This series of sabotage actions has posed a major challenge to the important railway transport line between China and Russia, and even temporarily interrupted the operation of the railway.
The target of the sabotage was the Baizer-Argentine Railway, an important railway transport line connecting Russian Siberia with the Far East. As part of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Baizhou-Argentine Railway is an important artery for transporting energy supplies from the Far East, and more than half of its freight traffic goes to China. It is an important guarantee for Russia's economy and military transport, and the sabotage of Ukraine** has undoubtedly had a major impact on Russia.
This sabotage not only caused serious damage to trains and tunnels, but also caused a prolonged obstruction to the transport work of the Baia-Afghanistan railway. In response to the sabotage, Russia urgently carried out repair work and activated the detour route before the tunnel was built to continue transportation. However, the success of this sabotage operation is a wake-up call, and the activities of Ukraine in Russia show that Ukraine is quite active in Russia, and they are constantly using actions to destroy vital infrastructure and further undermine economic activity and social order in Russia. The success of such an operation may be due to the fact that the Russian rear is not as secure as one might think. This also poses a huge challenge for Russia, not only militarily to respond to the Ukrainian attack, but also to strengthen security measures in the rear.
With a total length of more than 4,300 km, the Baia-Argentine Railway is an important railway transport line connecting Siberia in Russia with the Far East. It is not only part of the Trans-Siberian Railway, but also an important artery for transporting energy supplies from the Far East. According to the statistics of the Russian Railway Group, in 2022, Russia used the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Baizer-Argentine Railway as the main transportation routes, and the total railway freight in the direction of Far East Asia exceeded 80 million tons, of which more than half was transported to China.
The construction of the Baizhou-Argentine railway began in the early 70s of the 20th century, when the Soviet Union decided to build a second trans-Siberian railway in the rear hinterland, far from China. The railway took 10 years to complete, was costly, and the project was arduous. One of the challenges is that most of the Bai-Argentine railway crosses the permafrost, the temperatures are extremely low, and the area is sparsely populated to raise enough construction teams.
The construction of the Baizer-Argentine railway was of great strategic importance for the Soviet Union. The USSR believed that relying on the Trans-Siberian Railway for transportation energy resources would be able to strengthen the economic development of the Far East and provide military support for the Far East. The completion of the Bai-Argentine Railway provided the USSR with a convenient passage for the rapid transportation of energy and other resources from the Siberian region to the Far East, providing an important infrastructure for its development.
The Belarusian-Argentine railway is not only economically important for Russia, but also militarily strategically valuable. This railway line connects the western and Far East regions of Russia, providing an important rear support line for the Russian army, ensuring military supplies and material transportation in the Far East.
However, precisely because of its importance, the Bai-Argentine railway has become a target for sabotage and attacks by hostile forces. Ukraine's success in sabotaging the Belarusian-Argentine railway has undoubtedly brought great challenges to Russia's economic and military transport, and has also exposed the weaknesses of the Russian rear. In order to ensure the safe operation of the Baizhou-Argentine railway, Russia needs to strengthen its precautions against potential sabotage and improve its rear security capabilities. At the same time, it is also necessary to further strengthen intelligence exchange and cooperation with Ukraine to jointly counter potential threats.