Pro-Ukraine Group Claims Railway Sabotage in Russia’s Sverdlovsk Region
Yekaterinburg, Russia – A pro-Ukraine partisan group, ATESH, has claimed obligation for an attack on railway infrastructure near Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region. The group released pictures and video appearing to show a cabinet on fire, alleging the incident damaged relay equipment.
ATESH stated the targeted junction is a key supply route for Russian forces, used to transport ammunition, armoured vehicles, fuel, and personnel to the front lines, as well as supplying factories and warehouses in the north and east. “Now, military trains are idle, causing damage to the army’s rear,” the group said on Telegram. The timing of the alleged attack remains unclear.
According to a map provided by ATESH, the sabotage occurred on a 4,440-mile railway line on the western outskirts of Yekaterinburg.
ATESH has a history of conducting sabotage operations on military infrastructure in both occupied Ukraine and Russia. Last week, the group claimed to have destroyed a communications tower at an air defense factory in Tula.
The alleged incident follows a recent explosion on a railway line in western Russia, which killed three Russian National Guard troops, an event a Ukrainian military intelligence source attributed to Kyiv. Additionally, two trains derailed in Russia’s Leningrad region due to what the area’s governor described as “sabotage,” though a Ukrainian military source denied involvement in the derailment that resulted in one fatality.
Russian rail infrastructure has been a repeated target as part of wider efforts to disrupt Moscow’s military supply chain during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing for over three-and-a-half years. Ukraine estimates Russian casualties at nearly 1.1 million.
The incidents occur as NATO strengthens its eastern flank following reports of up to 24 Russian drones violating Polish airspace last week. The UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) will conduct air defence missions over Poland as part of the alliance’s new Eastern Sentry mission.
