Ukraine-Russia war latest: Multiple bridges collapse across Russia as saboteurs target Putin's rail network

Independent

3 days ago

Two bridges have collapsed, causing trains to derail, in separate incidents within Russia, which Vladimir Putin 's officials have blamed on "interference", a likely reference to Ukrainian saboteurs.
At least seven people were killed and 30 suffered injuries after a bridge collapsed and a train derailed in Russia 's Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, the authorities there said.
A second bridge collapsed hours later, causing a similar derailment, according to a local governor. And a prominent Ukrainian partisan group claimed responsibility for an attack on relay systems in occupied Donetsk oblast that stopped movement on a new Russian rail line.
Meanwhile, hundreds of towns were under evacuation orders in Ukraine 's northeastern Sumy region, where Russian forces are focusing their attacks, as Ukrainian officials warned Moscow could be preparing a new offensive there.
Ukrainian officials this week warned of a potential new Russian offensive in the northeast. A State Border Guard Service spokesperson said on Thursday that Russia had amassed 'sufficient forces' in the neighbouring Kursk region to launch an incursion, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Bryansk bridge collapse was 'sabotage', Russian military blogger says
The Bryansk bridge collapse was 'sabotage', according to prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who uses the name War Gonzo.
The report could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Tara Cobham1 June 2025 08:34
Among seven killed was locomotive driver, Russia's state news agencies report
Among the seven killed in Bryansk was the locomotive driver, Russia's state news agencies reported, citing medics.
Social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to help others climb out of the Bryansk train's damaged carriages in the dark and firefighters looking for ways to reach passengers.
Tara Cobham1 June 2025 08:10
Some 180 emergency services staff involved in search and rescue mission in Bryansk
Some 180 personnel were involved in efforts to find and rescue victims in the Bryansk incident, according to Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations.
It said on Telegram that the operation continued throughout the night.
Tara Cobham1 June 2025 07:54
Bridge collapse in Russia's Bryansk caused by explosion, governor says
The collapse of the bridge in Russia's Bryansk region was the result of an explosion, the region's acting governor said on Sunday, according to Russia's Interfax agency.
"The bridge was blown up while the Klimovo-Moscow train was passing through with 388 passengers on board," Interfax quoted Alexander Bogomaz as telling Russia's public broadcaster.
1 June 2025 07:30
Locomotive driver injured in Kursk derailment
The collapse in the Kursk region occurred early on Sunday while a freight train was crossing the bridge, Alexander Khinshtein, acting governor of the region, and Russian Railways said on Telegram.
"Part of the train fell onto a road underneath the bridge," Khinshtein said. He added that the locomotive caught fire, which was quickly extinguished. One of the drivers sustained leg injuries, and he and the team operating the train were taken to a local hospital, Khinshtein added.
Tara Cobham1 June 2025 07:18
Recap: Two bridges collapse in different Russian border regions, causing train derailments
Two bridges collapsed in different Russian regions bordering Ukraine overnight, derailing trains and killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, Russian authorities said early on Sunday.
There was no immediate confirmation that the incidents were related, but a Ukrainian partisan group has claimed responsibility for a third incident overnight targeting signalling on a new Russian rail line in occupied Donetsk.
Both Kursk and Bryansk, the regions where the two bridges collapsed, have been subject to frequent attacks by Ukraine during the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
Seven people were killed and 69 injured when a highway bridge collapsed onto railway tracks, derailing an approaching train in the Bryansk region late on Saturday, Russian emergency ministry and regional officials said.
Russia's Railways initially posted on the Telegram messaging app that the Bryansk bridge collapse was the result of an "illegal interference in the operation of transport", but the post was later removed. Prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who uses the name War Gonzo, called the Bryansk collapse "sabotage."
Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram that 47 people were hospitalised. Three children were among those injured with one in serious condition, he said.
The collapse in the Kursk region occurred early on Sunday while a freight train was crossing the bridge, Alexander Khinshtein, acting governor of the region, and Russian Railways said on Telegram.
"Part of the train fell onto a road underneath the bridge," Khinshtein said. He added that the locomotive caught fire, which was quickly extinguished. One of the drivers sustained leg injuries, and he and the team operating the train were taken to a local hospital, Khinshtein added.
He posted a photo of derailed carriages on a damaged bridge over a road. Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, Russia's upper chamber of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app that the incident in Bryansk shows that "Ukraine has long lost the attributes of a state and has turned into a terrorist enclave."
Russia's Baza Telegram channel, which often publishes information from sources in the security services and law enforcement, reported, without providing evidence, that according to preliminary information, the Bryansk bridge had been blown up.
Adam Withnall1 June 2025 06:56
Second Russian bridge collapses as freight train passes over
We're getting more detail on the second bridge collapse in Russia's Kursk region – hours after a similar incident in Bryansk.
The Kursk bridge collapsed while a freight train was passing over it, the acting governor of the Russian region bordering Ukraine said on the Telegram messaging app.
Unlike with the Bryansk incident Russia isn't reporting any deaths in Kursk, but its governor Alexander Khinshtein said one of the freight train's drivers was injured.
Adam Withnall1 June 2025 06:38
Saboteurs claim responsibility for disrupting railway in Donetsk
A pro-Ukraine partisan group has reportedly claimed responsibility for sabotaging a railway in Donetsk Oblast, which disrupted Russian logistics.
The Atesh partisan group issued the statement on Telegram this morning while two bridges collapsed, causing two trains to derail in Russia's border regions.
The group said it destroyed a relay box on the new Volnovakha-Mariupol railway, which resulted in the disruption of the railway signalling and traffic control system, The Kyiv Independent reported.
The Volnovakha-Mariupol railway, recently built by Russian forces, was used by Vladimir Putin's troops to deliver fuel, equipment, and ammunition directly to the frontline.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar1 June 2025 06:21
In pics: Russia's renewed offensive in Sumy Oblast
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar1 June 2025 05:21