Russia’s Main Link to China ‘Paralyzed’ After Tunnel ‘Sabotage’—Reports

Russia’s main rail link to China has been left paralyzed after Ukraine’s Security Service blew up a tunnel in Russian republic of Buryatia, it has been reported.

The explosions in the Severomuysky Tunnel were masterminded by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), “paralyzing the only serious route of railway communication between the Russian Federation and China,” RBC-Ukraine reported on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

The Severomuysky Tunnel is a railroad tunnel on the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in northwestern Buryatia. The Soviet-built BAM is used to deliver cargo shipments to Asia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed to modernize Russia’s railways, including BAM, in order to handle the rapid increase in freight traffic from China to Europe, and to reduce transport times between ports in Russia’s Far East and the country’s western border.

A RBC-Ukraine source said that Russia used the route for “military supplies.”

Russian-language Telegram channel Baza, which is linked to Russia’s security services, said that a fuel tank caught fire while moving in the Severomuysky Tunnel in Buryatia.

“It was probably sabotage,” the channel reported Thursday.

Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda also reported that the tunnel was blown up by the SBU.

“Four explosive devices went off during the movement of the freight train. Now the FSB is working on the spot, and railway workers are unsuccessfully trying to minimize the consequences of the SBU’s special operation,” a source told Ukrainska Pravda.

Newsweek has contacted the foreign ministries of Russia and Ukraine for comment via email. The SBU has yet to comment on the reports.

This is a developing story and it will be updated when further information becomes available.