The collapse of two bridges in Russia was classified as “acts of terrorism,” said Svetlana Petrenko, spokesman for the country’s investigation committee, cited by state agency Ria. The incident occurred in the southwest Russian, near the border of Ukraine, according to Russian authorities.
“At night, the president (Vladimir Putin) received reports from the Russian Intelligence Service (FSB) and the Ministry of Emergency Situations about events that affected trains in the regions of Kursk and Brriansk,” Kremlin said on Telegram.
In the Briansk region, “a road bridge collapsed due to an explosion,” said the investigation committee in a statement. In Kursk, “a railway bridge was also destroyed by an explosion,” he added.
The first incident occurred on Saturday night and caused the derailment of a train.
“The collapse of a bridge over the railroad left seven dead,” said the governor of the Briansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, also informing that 66 people were injured, including three children.
The accident with the N.86 train, which made the route between Klimov, in the southwest region of Belgorod, and Moscow, happened at 10:44 pm local time (4:44 pm GMT) near Phishino-Vygonichi, according to Moscow railways on Telegram.
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The company stated that the collapse of the bridge was caused by a “illegal interference in the transportation operation”, but stressed that the circulation of other trains was not affected. Images released on social networks showed a part of the destroyed bridge and damaged vehicles, while rescue teams worked on site.
The incident area is about 100 km from Ukraine, a country that Russia invaded in February 2022.
To date, the Russian authorities have not established any direct connection with the conflict in Ukraine, and Kiev did not officially commented on the collapse.
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Second Bridge
On Sunday morning, the governor of the neighboring region of Kursk, Alexander Jinstein, announced the collapse of a railway bridge, through which a locomotive passed that “fell” over the highway below and “caught fire”.
The drivers were injured and were hospitalized, he said without specifying the number of victims.
Like Belgorod and Briansk, the Kursk region borders Ukraine. The Ukrainian forces even occupied 1,400 square kilometers of the area after a surprise attack in August 2024, but Russia resumed the territory.
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Since the beginning of the conflict, sabotage cases have occurred in Russian railways near Ukraine, many of them performed by young people, sometimes minors.
Kiev usually does not comment on the attacks on Russian territory, but sometimes celebrates them, considering them legitimate answers to Russian attacks against their rail infrastructure.
Russia advances in the Sumi region
This Sunday, Moscow said he had taken the village of Oleksiivka, in the northeast of Sumi, Ukraine, a day after announcing the conquest of the locality of Vodolagui.
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In the same region, Ukraine ordered on Saturday the mandatory evacuation of several villages, fearing a great Russian offensive.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski warned that Russia was concentrating 50,000 soldiers for a possible offensive against Sumi.
