Fighters from the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Ministry of Defense and the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine carried out a series of operations unique in their complexity to disrupt traffic on the railway routes in Russia Orel-Kursk and St. Petersburg-Pskov, Ukrinform reported, BTA reported.
According to sources from the GRU, as a result of the attack, two Russian security guards were killed and another was seriously injured.
Russian Railways employees on the Maloarkhangelsk-Glazunovka railway section in the Oryol region discovered mines of unknown origin the day before. An engineering team from the Russian National Guard special forces was called to the scene. However, an explosion occurred during the failed mine clearance operation.
As a result of the explosion, at 10:00 p.m. on September 13, federal railway service was suspended, with more than 15 trains delayed in both directions. The sabotage of the railway line was confirmed by the authorities in the Oryol region, and local residents published footage of the fire, Ukrinform reported.
Another attack took place on the night of September 14. At around 2:30 a.m., rails on the St. Petersburg-Pskov railway line in the Stroganovo-Mshinsk section were blown up. As a result of the attack, a locomotive was derailed and 15 fuel tanks were destroyed.
According to a GRU source, the operations were carried out jointly with units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"These railway lines are of strategic importance for supplying the occupation forces in the sectors of (Ukrainian cities - ed.) Kharkiv and Sumy. As a result of the destruction of the railway infrastructure, the Russians will experience significant logistical difficulties, which in turn will significantly affect their ability to take active action against the Ukrainian defense forces,“ the representative of Ukrainian intelligence emphasized.