Military intelligence: Railways in western Russia hit by sabotage attacks

Railway tracks in Russia's Saratov, Yaroslavl, and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts have been targeted in sabotage attacks, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) reported on Jan. 17.

"Unknown opponents of Putin's regime once again burned several relay cabinets on the railway" and other parts of the track used for military logistics, the HUR said.

The agency shared a video compilation of what appeared to show multiple arson attacks on relay boxes and other parts of track infrastructure.

As a result of the reported sabotage, railway traffic on certain track sections was "paralyzed," according to the HUR.

While the HUR did not state whether it was involved in the attacks, a number of incidents on Russian railways have been linked to Ukrainian intelligence services in recent months.

In November, the HUR claimed responsibility for its role in a joint operation with local resistance that disrupted trains in the region around Moscow.

Ukrainian media also claimed in late November and early December that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out two sabotages on the Baikal-Amur railway in Russia's Buryatia Republic.

The Kyiv Independent has not independently confirmed these reports.

Russian Railways reported that 14 freight train cars were derailed in Russia's Far East on Jan. 8. The day before, there were reports of explosions at a railway track by an oil depot on the outskirts of Nizhny Tagil, an industrial city near the Urals.

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