Ukraine said it blew up a railway bridge in Russia’s southwestern Samara region on Monday because it was being used to transport “military cargo”.
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The incident is the latest in a string of explosions targeting Russia’s rail network, which Kyiv says Moscow uses to move troops and equipment for its invasion of Ukraine.
“A railway bridge over the Chapaevka River in Russia’s Samara region was blown up. On 4 March 2024, at around 6:00 am (0200 GMT), the bridge was damaged by blowing up its support structures,” Ukraine’s military intelligence said.
Russia was using the railway line to transport ammunition from a plant in the town of Chapayevsk, it said.
“Given the nature of the damage to the railway bridge, its use will not be possible for a long time,” it added.
The blast on the railway bridge paralysed traffic, said The Kyiv Independent in an X post, quoting Ukrainian military intelligence.
A railway bridge across the Chapayevka River in Russia’s Samara Oblast has been blown up, paralyzing the traffic, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) said on March 4 without specifying who was responsible for the incident.
HUR/Telegram pic.twitter.com/uzav1YWG57
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 4, 2024
Russia’s railway operator earlier Monday had announced that traffic in the Samara region was suspended after a bridge explosion.
“An intervention by non-authorised persons” caused the incident, the railway company said in a statement, adding that there were no injuries from the blast.
“Rail traffic is suspended for the moment at this section,” it said.
“An explosive device damaged a pillar on a rail bridge” over the Chapaevka river, the official TASS news agency quoted a source at the rescue services as saying.
Russia’s rail network has seen a number of sabotage incidents since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
