May 30, 2024 – Translated from Ukrainian via Google and OFP
Valery Ryabikh, Director of Development of the information and consulting company Defense Express, stated that there are two weak points in the enemy’s railway line – the bridges over the rivers Kalmius and Mius.
He expressed this opinion on Espresso.
“This is done by the enemy, let’s say, not because they have nowhere to go for money – it is because they feel a real threat to their Kerch bridge and are preparing for the fact that it may be interrupted. In addition, they hope that such diversification will increase their logistics. Up to 75% of the occupiers’ transportation is tied up in railways. The construction and commissioning of a section of the railway, which will make it possible to run trains directly from the Rostov region, past Mariupol, and connect with the branch, which descends from Donetsk and Volnovakha to the south and continues along the southern route,” Ryabih explained.
The expert emphasized that the enemy made the first test launch, but the analysis of the photos shows that the railway has certain limitations in its application.
Read also: Military expert Snegiryov explained why the Crimean bridge has not been destroyed yet
“We are talking about a single-track railway, in addition, this railway is not electrified and the enemy is taking this step deliberately and in order to, say, make more reliable use of locomotive traction. The fact that it is a single-track railroad means that it has certain limitations with capacity – about 10 trains per day. Analysis of the pictures of those trains that are moving now show that this track has and will have a limit on the maximum load on the track. This means a limit on the number of cars the enemy will have for the logistics of its troops to the south of the mainland of Ukraine, and for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to content with,” the director of development of the information and consulting company Defense Express emphasized.
The creation of a railway line by the enemy adds new targets for our defenders to strike.
“It is not yet said whether the enemy will be able to establish uninterrupted operation of this branch in the near future, but there is such a prospect, during this summer, and the main task is precisely to prevent its introduction into regular operation. There are at least two weak points on the newly constructed sections – these are bridges over the rivers Kalmius and Mius. Therefore, such vulnerable places can become the object of strikes by the Defense Forces of Ukraine, as well as a task for the actions of partisans and subversive intelligence groups,” Ryabih added.
What preceded
On September 27, 2023, the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andryushchenko said that the occupiers are trying to build a direct railway connection between the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied cities of Donetsk region – Mariupol, Volnovakha and Donetsk.
On October 2, 2023, it became known that the Russians are building a road from Rostov-on-Don to the temporarily occupied Mariupol.
On January 11, the then head of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, stated that the occupiers intend to build a railway branch for their logistics in Ukraine, which will connect Mariupol, Melitopol and Crimea.
On March 18, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced that the railway from Rostov-on-Don to Donetsk, Mariupol and Berdyansk had allegedly been restored.
The British Ministry of Defense emphasized that the railway built by the Russians in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is vulnerable to high-precision strikes by the Ukrainian side.
On March 31, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense Kyrylo Budanov said that the construction of a railway by the Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territories could pose a problem for Ukraine.
On April 1, it was reported that the Russians are building the Rostov-Crimea railway in order to secure their troops in the temporarily occupied territories of southern Ukraine, because the enemy cannot do this through the Crimean Bridge.
On April 30, the head of Zaporizhzhya OVA Ivan Fedorov spoke about the enemy’s plans for the railway that the Russians are building in the south of Ukraine from Rostov to Crimea.
Those two relatively small bridges mentioned in the report above should be easy targets for Ukraine to deal with. They are certainly easier to destroy than the Kerch Bridge. But, the Kerch Bridge must also be destroyed. It’s too bad that certain allies haven’t given Ukraine the right tools to accomplish this yet. It’s just one more facet that could’ve helped to end the war sooner.