Ukraine suspected of blowing up railway line connecting Russia and China

Severomuysky railway tunnel (Photo: Pravda).

Reuters quoted an anonymous source from Ukraine on November 30 as saying that forces of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detonated four explosive devices as a freight train passed through the Severomuysky tunnel in the Buryatia region, on an important railway line between Russia and China.

The attack occurred on the night of November 29, causing the train to catch fire, but there is currently no information about damage. Sources say that Russia also uses this railway for military purposes.

Russia's Investigative Service says a fuel train caught fire in a railway tunnel, but there were no casualties.

According to Russian Railways, the train stopped when smoke was detected coming from a fuel tank.

Russian authorities are investigating the cause of the incident. If it was indeed an operation by Ukrainian security forces, it would demonstrate their ability to strike deep into Russian territory. The railway is about 4,000km from the Ukrainian border.

Previously, Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities were relatively limited and dependent on Western aid.

Graphics: Sun

In another related development, Reuters reported that the US has postponed the delivery of the first batch of long-range guided rockets (GLSDB) to Ukraine until 2024.

The GLSDB has a range of about 160km. Boeing is scheduled to complete production and deliver this rocket to the US military by the end of December, but the US still needs a few more months of testing before handing it over to Ukraine.

It would allow the Ukrainian military to strike targets at twice the distance of the missiles they currently fire from the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery System (HIMARS) and force Russia to move supplies further away from the front line.

The United States and its allies have begun supplying long-range weapons to Ukraine, but with certain restrictions. This is because the West fears that Kiev could use such weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, leading to the risk of direct conflict between Russia and NATO.

Moscow has warned that any long-range missiles supplied by the West to Ukraine would lead to a further spiral of tension in the Ukrainian conflict.

In late October, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Western countries to immediately stop aid to Ukraine and start negotiations based on the actual situation.

"I reaffirm Russia's consistent position that countries need to immediately stop providing aid to Ukraine and start negotiations based on the real situation, Russia's core interests were stated from the very beginning of the special military operation," Mr. Lavrov emphasized.

He also noted that Washington's transfer of long-range ATACMS missiles to Kiev is a futile effort and only prolongs the suffering of the Ukrainian people.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ukraine-bi-nghi-kich-no-tuyen-duong-sat-noi-nga-va-trung-quoc-20231201065121097.htm