Ukraine Claims SBU Blew Up Railways in Eastern Russia

Ukrainian officials said the rail lines that were hit connect Russia and China

Ukrainian officials speaking to media outlets on Friday claimed that the CIA-backed Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) blew up trains on railways deep inside eastern Russia.

An anonymous Ukrainian official told POLITICO that several explosions were set off in Buryatia, a Russian region over 2,500 miles from Ukrainian territory. Russian media and local officials reported fires and explosions on trains in the region but did not say the cause.

The Ukrainian official claimed the sabotage disrupted military supplies being shipped from China, although Beijing has long denied it’s arming Moscow. “This is the only serious railway connection between the Russian Federation and China. And currently, this route, which Russia uses, including for military supplies, is paralyzed,” the official said.

However, Russia’s state railroad company RZHD said in a statement on a reported fire in the region that it did not disrupt service. “The movement of trains was not interrupted, it was organized along a bypass section with a slight increase in travel time,” the statement said.

The Ukrainian official said the operation shows Russia that its operatives can strike anywhere. “Russian special services should get used to the fact that our people are everywhere. Even in distant Buryatia,” the official said.

The claim of the railway attack comes as it’s become clear Ukraine has no chance of beating Russia on the battlefield, and Western support for Kyiv’s war effort appears to be waning.

The SBU and Ukraine’s military intelligence, the GUR, have taken credit for attacks and assassinations inside Russia and Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine throughout the war.

A recent report from The Washington Post detailed how the CIA helped build up the SBU and GUR, including through tens of millions of dollars in funding since 2015. The report said the CIA helped open a new directorate for the GUR and trained new recruits for the purpose of forming groups “capable of operating behind front lines and working as covert groups.”

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.