2022–present rail war in Russia
Part of the 2022–2023 Belarusian and Russian partisan movement
Date24 February 2022 (2022-02-24) – present
Caused byRussian invasion of Ukraine
Methods
StatusOngoing
Parties

The rail war began in different regions of Russia in the spring of 2022 after a similar rail war in Belarus.[5][6][7][8]

According to The Insider's summary of media reports, at least 63 freight trains derailed in Russia between March and June 2022, about one and a half times more than during the same period in 2021.[9]

Organizations

Responsibility for the "rail war" was assumed by representatives of the "Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists". In particular, they delayed the arrival of trains to a military unit in the Vladimir Oblast, where an arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry is located.[10]

On 28 June 2022 the cell "BOAK-Vladimir" published a press release claiming sabotage action on railway of military unit 55443 VD Barsovo (51st Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, 1060th Centre for Material-Technical Support, Western Military District) near Kirzhach in Vladimir Oblast. The rails were damaged. BOAK's press release stated, "Every stopped train helps to get rid of missiles and rockets, which could hit peaceful Ukrainian cities!"[11]

In mid 2022, a second group, the "Stop the Wagons" movement, was created to engage in sabotage on railways in Russia.

Also, the Belarusian organization "Busly Lyatsyats" took responsibility for some of the partisan actions carried out on the infrastructure of the Russian Railways.[3]

Actions

2022

  • 12 April a railway bridge was badly damaged in the Belgorod region.[12]
  • 23 April saw a locomotive leave the track and fall down an embankment in the Bryansk region, possibly accident, possibly sabotage.[13] As a result of additional check on railway lines, on 26 April, an inert mine was discovered along a railway track in Bryansk.[14]
  • 1 May, in Kursk Oblast, a bridge on the Sudzha—Sosnovy Bor railway collapsed. The governor declared it an act of sabotage. A criminal investigation was launched.[15]
  • June a group calling themselves BO(A)K sabotaged a rail lines east of Moscow by unbolting a piece of track whilst maintaining the electrical signal to avoid detection of the damage caused.[16]
  • July saw a train drivers cab damaged by an explosive device in the Bryansk Oblas.[17]
  • August, part of the Lgov-Lokinskaya rail line was damaged by an explosion.[18]
  • 1 September saw a coal train derailed in Khakassia, East Siberia, ripping up 100m of track.[19]
  • October 2022 saw an explosive device damaged the railway near the village of Novozybkov, in the Bryansk Oblast, near the Belarus border, with part of a rail broken and another buckled. Stop the Wagon claimed responsibility for the sabotage.[20]
  • The night of 4-5 November Freedom of Russia Legion set fire to a train transporting fuel near Yekaterinburg.[21]

2023

  • Civilian trains and military convoys were blocked by partisan sabotage during the night from 3–4 January 2023 on a part of the Trans-Siberian Railway passing through Krasnoyarsk, in the sixth railway sabotage incident of 2023.[22]
  • 1 May in Russia's Bryansk Oblast, bordering Ukraine, a locomotive and tank carriages of a freight train were derailed after an explosive device detonated along the Bryansk-Unecha railway line.[23] Next day, 2 May, another locomotive and around 20 wagons were derailed between Snezhetskaya and the nearby village of Belye Berega, south east of Bryansk.[24]
  • 18 May four relay cabinets were burnt in Kazan, relay cabinets inform rail controllers whether there is a train on a particular section of track, delaying trains.[25]
  • July sabotage in two regions damaged relay cabinets with fire in Vladimir Oblast and another in Kirov Oblast.[26]
  • An explosion on a track in the Bryansk region, near Unecha, in August caused a freight train carrying military goods to derail.[27]
  • November 2023 saw a derailment of 19 wagons with 15 damaged, Ryazan region, southwest of Moscow.[28]

2024

  • January, incidents occurred in three locations, Saratov, Yaroslavl, and Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region with fires in relay boxes and explosives attached to rail tankers.[29]

Reactions

On the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, 24 February 2022, the Russian Ministry of Transport ordered to increase the level of security on the railways in the southern regions of Russia. In April, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate published what it said was a telegram sent by the heads of railroad sections in the Rostov and Krasnodar regions calling for cooperation with the authorities to protect the railways.[9]

In June, RZhD-Partner magazine wrote, citing Goszheldornadzor, that more than 55% of freight train accidents in the previous four months were related to the state of the railway tracks. At the same time, the FSB at least once reported on the detention of people who had allegedly prepared acts of sabotage at a "transport infrastructure facility" in the Belgorod Region.[30]

Two men arrested in March 2022 were sentenced in a Russian court in February 2023 to over 3 years in prison after being suspected of planning a sabotage operation. Three students from the town of Chekhov near Moscow, who had been arrested by the FSB, potentially face up to 10 year prison sentences.[31]

By May 2023 66 individuals had been arrested in relation to railway sabotage issues, the most common offence being the burning of relay boxes, which now have a stencilled warning about the penalties of sabotage on them.[32]

By October 2023 the number arrested had reached 150, one third are children, with 137 prosecuted in 76 cases.[33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "«Рельсовые диверсанты» сообщили о сходе поезда в Твери". Archived from the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  2. ↑ "Этот поезд в огне: как российские партизаны поджигают военкоматы и пускают поезда под откос" [This train is on fire: how Russian partisans set fire to military enlistment offices and derail trains]. The Insider (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  3. 1 2 Гребеняк, Владимир (2022-05-06). "В россии началась рельсовая война - Волнорез" (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  4. ↑ "Акт о Движении Сопротивления - 1-й Съезд Народных Депутатов" (in Russian). 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  5. ↑ "Рельсовая война разворачивается и на территории России: успешные диверсии произошли в 4 областях". 24 Канал (in Russian). 15 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  6. ↑ "«Рельсовая война» перекинулась из Беларуси на территорию россии". Флот 2017 (in Russian). 2022-05-06. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  7. ↑ bigmir)net, Новости (2022-04-15). ""Рельсовая война" в РФ: партизаны провели успешные акции в 4 областях". Новости bigmir)net (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  8. ↑ "В Курской области неизвестные повредили ж/д полотно - СМИ". www.nakanune.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  9. 1 2 "Этот поезд в огне: как российские партизаны поджигают военкоматы и пускают поезда под откос". The Insider (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  10. ↑ "В России началась рельсовая война - СМИ". korrespondent.net (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  11. ↑ "Sabotage action on the railway of military unit 55443 VD Barsovo (51th Arsenal of the Main rocket-artillery department of Russian Defense ministry) | Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists".
  12. ↑ Roth, Andrew (12 April 2022). "Key Russian railway bridge destroyed in Belgorod near border with Ukraine". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "Russian Train Derails After Railway Track Damaged, Photos Show". Newsweek. 25 April 2022.
  14. ↑ Dominic Culverwell and Theo Normanton (2022-04-29). "Russia on fire: Is Ukraine giving Moscow a taste of its own medicine?". BNE Intellinews. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  15. ↑ "Russian Railroad Bridge Near Ukraine Border Partially Collapses". RFE/RL. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Russian Anarchists Are Sabotaging Railways to Stop Putin's War on Ukraine". 31 August 2022.
  17. ↑ "Explosion reported on railroad in Russia's Bryansk Oblast near Ukrainian border". 9 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "Sabotage continues in Russia as part of Kursk region railway is blown up". 16 August 2022.
  19. ↑ "Anti-Putin Russian "Rebels" Derail Huge Coal Train in East Siberia". 5 September 2022.
  20. ↑ "Russian anti-war group blow up rail track in attempt to derail Ukraine invasion". 27 October 2022.
  21. ↑ "Another partisan attack led to the burning of a Russian train". 11 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "Intelligence: Partisans stop movement of military convoys on Russian railroad". The Kyiv Independent. 2023-01-04. Archived from the original on 2023-01-04. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  23. ↑ "Russian freight train derails after being hit by explosive device, Bryansk governor says". ABC Australia. 1 May 2023.
  24. ↑ "Blast causes another train to derail in Russia near Ukraine". 2 May 2023.
  25. ↑ "In the Russian Kazan there was a sabotage on the railway". 18 May 2023.
  26. ↑ "Unknown guerrillas set fire to railway equipment in the Kirov and Vladimir oblasts of Russia, Russian media outlet Baza claimed on July 8". 8 July 2023.
  27. ↑ "Russian man blew up military freight train heading to Ukraine in another sabotage". 30 August 2023.
  28. ↑ "Russia Opens 'Terrorism' Inquiry Over Train Derailment". 11 November 2023.
  29. ↑ "Resistance movement burned several railroad facilities in the Russian Federation". 17 January 2024.
  30. ↑ "В России, как и в Беларуси, появились «рельсовые партизаны» Они устраивают диверсии на железной дороге (а еще поджигают военкоматы), чтобы приблизить конец войны. The Insider с ними поговорил". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  31. ↑ "Russia: First verdict for planned railway sabotage". 22 February 2023.
  32. ↑ "Sabotage on Russian Railways Continues". 7 September 2023.
  33. ↑ "Fire tracks. An updated survey of anti‑war railway sabotage in Russia". 6 October 2023.
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