Two trains derailed in different locations within Russia’s western Leningrad region early on Sunday, resulting in the death of a train driver and causing significant disruptions to rail traffic, as reported by the regional governor.
These incidents followed an explosion that occurred on a stretch of railway in Russia’s western Oryol region late Saturday, which resulted in the deaths of three officers from the Russian National Guard.
A Ukrainian military intelligence source announced on Sunday that they were behind two of the attacks but did not take responsibility for the derailment that resulted in the driver’s death.
These acts of sabotage are the most recent in a series of assaults on Russia’s extensive railway system, which, according to Kyiv, Moscow utilizes to transport troops and fuel to its forces engaged in the conflict in Ukraine.
“Efforts to recover the single diesel locomotive that derailed near Semrino station in the Gatchina district of Leningrad are ongoing,” stated Governor Alexander Drozdenko on Telegram.
“The train driver was unfortunately killed; he was trapped inside the cabin and succumbed to his injuries in the ambulance after rescue efforts,” he elaborated.
An unverified video circulating on social media seemed to depict a train car overturned several meters away from the railway track.
Earlier that same day, a freight train transporting 15 empty tank cars also derailed in a location further south, between the villages of Stroganovo and Mshinskaya, but no injuries were reported, Drozdenko confirmed.
According to a source from Ukraine’s military intelligence who spoke to AFP, the tankers were “destroyed along with their fuel.”
The source indicated that Ukraine’s military operations aimed at “critically vital logistical routes supplying the occupying forces in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.”
“As a result of damaging the railway infrastructure in those areas, the Russians will face considerable logistical challenges,” the source added.
Repeated derailments, explosions, and fires have plagued Russia’s railway network, which officials attribute to Ukrainian sabotage efforts.
While Kyiv usually refrains from claiming such attacks, it often expresses support for them, contending that Russia has shamelessly exploited its railway system for military purposes since the onset of its offensive in February 2022.
