Ukrainian special operations disrupt Russian supply lines right on their own routes. Partisans from the Atesh movement have successfully carried out a sabotage operation on the railway in the Adyge-Khabl District of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, which is about 520-530 kilometers from Ukraine.
The Atesh partisan movement was formed in 2022 as a joint initiative of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians after Russia’s full-scale invasion. It claims to have a network of saboteurs inside the Russian army and has created an online course for Russian soldiers teaching them how to sabotage their own equipment.
As a result, a relay cabinet was set on fire between the Sadovy and Erken-Shakhar stations, near the Sadovoe settlement.
Halting ammunition supplies
This railway branch transports ammunition and military equipment from North Caucasus industrial centers to the Rostov Oblast and from there to the front in Ukraine. The sabotage disrupted train traffic, delaying the delivery of MLRS munitions, tube artillery, repaired equipment, and rotating personnel.
Chain reaction on the front
Every strike creates a domino effect: troops in occupied territories receive fewer shells, replenishments and repairs are delayed, and Ukrainian units gain a tactical advantage on the battlefield.
Two separate train derailments hit Russia’s Leningrad Oblast on 14 September—one involving 15 fuel tanker cars, the other killing a train driver. Just a day earlier, three Rosgvardiya personnel were killed by an explosive device planted on railway tracks in Oryol Oblast. Russian authorities are investigating all incidents as possible sabotage.
These instances of possible Ukrainian rail sabotage in Russia come amid Ukraine’s broader campaign to disrupt Russian military logistics in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. While recent long-range drone strikes have primarily targeted oil processing facilities and fuel transport infrastructure, railways have also seen increased targeting due to the Russian army’s heavy reliance on rail for movement. However, confirmed reports of physical sabotage on railway tracks remain relatively scarce compared to the frequency of drone attacks on trains and rail-linked power substations.
15 tankers derail in Luzhsky district
According to Russian Governor of Leningrad Oblast Alexandr Drozdenko, a locomotive pulling 15 empty tank cars derailed in Luzhsky district at the Stroganovo-Mshinskaya rail section. No casualties were reported. Drozdenko stated that two emergency recovery trains were dispatched from St. Petersburg to the site of the incident.
As a result of the derailment, train movement was blocked in two directions. Ten suburban electric trains were delayed or canceled.
Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported on the derailment, and another channel, Supernova+, claimed sabotage affected two separate railway segments in Leningrad Oblast—specifically in Luzhsky and Gatchina districts.
Train driver dies in second derailment near Semrino
Russian news Telegram channel Astra reported another derailment in the same oblast near the station of Semrino, located in Gatchina district. In this incident, a lone locomotive left the tracks. The train driver was trapped inside the cabin and later died in the ambulance, Astra wrote.
Governor Drozdenko confirmed that sappers were deployed to the scene. He also noted that investigators were examining the version of sabotage.
The derailments in Leningrad Oblast occurred amid reports of a Ukrainian strike on the KINEF oil refinery, one of Russia’s largest fuel production facilities, located in the same oblast.
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Three Rosgvardiya members killed in Oryol Oblast rail explosion
On 13 September, an explosive device detonated on the Maloarkhangelsk–Glazunovka rail segment in Oryol Oblast, killing two Rosgvardia national guard members and injuring another. One day later, the injured officer died, bringing the total death toll to three.
Governor of Oryol Oblast Andrei Klychkov initially confirmed the deaths of two personnel, and a day later, he announced the third fatality. Acting Governor of Kursk Oblast Aleksandr Khinshtein later clarified that all three victims were Rosgvardiya officers.
The deaths reportedly occurred when the explosive went off directly under the rail path. Authorities are investigating the incident as an act of sabotage.
Ukrainian drone strikes disrupt Russian rail traffic across multiple regions
Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russian railway infrastructure, triggering repeated disruptions to both military and civilian transport.
On 3 September, a drone hit Kuteynikovo station in Rostov Oblast, damaging electrical systems and forcing a full evacuation. Twenty-six passenger trains were delayed.
On 1 September, drones struck a transformer substation in Kropotkin, Krasnodar Krai, igniting a fire and disabling a major southern railway hub feeding occupied Crimea.
On 21 August, a strike on the Zhuravka railway power substation in Voronezh Oblast caused a fire.
Earlier, on 17 August, a drone hit Liski rail station in the same oblast, cutting power and disrupting southern rail traffic.
Russian Railways’ cargo volumes reportedly dropped 5.4% in August 2025 year-on-year, the third straight quarterly decline, with only 92.2 million tons moved amid mounting war costs and sanctions pressure.
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office and intelligence agencies have issued a warning: Russia is attempting to recruit citizens via social media for espionage and sabotage. These so-called “single-use agents” are lured into committing crimes on behalf of foreign intelligence services.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called Russian President Vladimir Putin “perhaps the most serious war criminal of our time.” Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned that geographical distance provides no security guarantee for Europe against Russian threats, citing missile technology that can reach European capitals within minutes.
How the recruitment scheme works
According to German intelligence, malicious actors initiate casual conversations on social networks, assess the user’s political stance, and later offer money for criminal acts — such as property damage.
“Anyone who agrees becomes an ‘agent’ of another state… Behind these recruitment attempts may stand foreign intelligence services. Their goal is to destabilize Germany using people within the country,” the agencies cautioned.
Military facilities in focus
Authorities stress that Russian intelligence is particularly interested in military bases and sites where Ukrainian soldiers are being trained.
“Perpetrators hope to gain strategic advantages by spying on such facilities or disrupting their operations… Successful sabotage could severely damage military structures and undermine trust in the state,” the statement reads.
This represents a classic case of hybrid warfare, where an enemy seeks to weaken its opponent without direct confrontation.
Harsh punishment for “agents”
German citizens are urged not to fall for such recruitment attempts and to remember the consequences. “Anti-constitutional sabotage” in Germany carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, while “espionage activities” can result in up to ten years.
If crimes are proven to be carried out in the interests of a foreign intelligence service, the punishment is even harsher.
Three men were found guilty on July 8 in connection with an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London, which British authorities say was orchestrated by Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Reuters reported.
The alleged ringleader, Dylan Earl, 21, had already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson over the 2024 blaze targeting companies that were supplying Elon Musk's Starlink satellite equipment to Ukraine, according to Reuters.
The systems are considered vital to Ukraine's communications and defense against Russia's ongoing invasion.
Earl also became the first person convicted under the U.K.'s National Security Act after admitting to a separate plot to attack a wine shop and restaurant in London’s upscale Mayfair district and to kidnap its owner, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Two others, Jake Reeves, 23, and Earl’s associate, also pleaded guilty to aggravated arson, with Reeves admitting to a charge under the National Security Act for receiving a material benefit from a foreign intelligence agency.
A jury at London's Old Bailey court convicted three additional men, Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, of aggravated arson. They had denied the charges. A fourth man, Paul English, 61, was acquitted.
Two other defendants, Ashton Evans, 20, and Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 23, were charged with failing to disclose knowledge of terrorist activity. Evans was convicted on one count and cleared of another. Paulauskas was acquitted of both charges and reportedly broke down in tears as the verdict was read.
Commander Dominic Murphy of the London Metropolitan Police reportedly said he was confident the Wagner Group and the Russian state were behind the attacks.
The U.K. has designated the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization.
Earl had exchanged hundreds of encrypted messages with a supposed Wagner handler using the alias "Privet Bot" on Telegram. According to reporting by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the account was previously advertised by Grey Zone, a Wagner-affiliated channel.
Prosecutors said Earl expressed interest in fighting for Wagner and was encouraged to recruit contacts from British soccer hooligan networks, Irish republican groups, and organized crime circles, Reuters reported. He and Evans also admitted to unrelated charges of dealing cocaine.
The Russian Embassy in London has denied any involvement in the warehouse attack and accused the British government of blaming Russia for domestic issues.
The Kremlin has consistently rejected accusations of sabotage and espionage, despite growing evidence and convictions tied to Russian-linked operations across Europe.
BRICS summit participants condemned recent attacks on Russia’s railway infrastructure, according to a joint declaration on July 6 from Rio de Janeiro.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attacks on bridges and railway infrastructure deliberately targeting civilians in the Bryansk, Kursk and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation on May 31, and June 1 and 5 2025, which resulted in the deaths of several civilians, including children," the document says.
Bryansk, Kursk, and Voronezh oblasts are all located near Ukraine’s northeastern border and have played a central role in Russia’s war effort, serving as key logistical hubs and launch sites for missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities–often targeting civilian infrastructure and causing casualties.
In their declaration, BRICS leaders also called for a negotiated peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
“We recall our national positions concerning the conflict in Ukraine as expressed in the appropriate forum, including the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly,” the document said. “We expect that current efforts will lead to a sustainable peace settlement.”
The statement comes a few days after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 3, in which Putin said "Russia will continue to pursue its goals" in the war against Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended the summit in person, while Russian President Vladimir Putin participated via video link.
Brazil is a member of the ICC and a signatory to the Rome Statute, meaning it is obliged to arrest Putin if he enters the country.
The ICC issued a warrant for the Russian leader's arrest in March 2023 over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The BRICS declaration also condemned recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as violations of international law and criticized the presence of foreign forces in Syria and Gaza, calling for Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory.
BRICS, originally composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded in recent years to include Iran, Egypt, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.
The Atesh partisan group set fire to a signal cabinet that helps control traffic on a railway line near the Russian-occupied city of Yasynuvata in Donetsk Oblast, a route used for Russia's military logistics, the group claimed on Telegram on June 28.
Yasynuvata lies some 22 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the occupied city of Donetsk and is considered to be a major railway junction in the region.
According to the group, the sabotaged section is located near Russian military units, warehouses, and industrial facilities.
Atesh said the attack disrupted the delivery of a train carrying fuel for Russian forces.
"On Ukraine's Constitution Day, we remind the occupiers that this is an independent and free country. And Donetsk will always be Ukrainian," the statement read.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
The Atesh partisan group regularly conducts sabotage attacks in Russia and Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories.
In early June, Atesh claimed to have destroyed a signal cabinet on the new Volnovakha-Mariupol railway, which had been recently built by occupying Russian forces.
Ukraine's security service (SBU) is teaching teenagers how to avoid recruitment by Russian intelligence online, the New York Times (NYT) reported on June 21.
"Maybe not all of these special operations are reported in the media — but believe me, the enemy is not sleeping... They are working actively and carrying out illegal activities, as strange as it may sound, directly inside your phones," SBU spokesperson Roksolana Yavorska-Isaienko told students.
Approximately 22% of Ukrainians recruited by Russian intelligence to conduct sabotage or terrorist attacks are minors, Artem Dekhtiarenko, SBU spokesperson, said on April 2.
Russian intelligence attempts to recruit Ukrainian civilians online, offering easy money in return for sharing sensitive data or preparing sabotage or terrorist acts.
Russian intelligence finds its recruits using social platforms, including Telegram, Discord, and TikTok.
Unsuspecting teenagers are often offered hundreds or even thousands of dollars to conduct simpler tasks such as delivering packages or taking photos of energy sites, the NYT reports.
More serious tasks are commonly assigned to teenagers once they have been blackmailed for conducting less serious operations beforehand or when their phones are hacked to reveal compromising photos.
Russian intelligence is actively attempting to recruit Ukrainian nationals for illegal operations across the EU, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said on June 2.
"The recruitment of Ukrainians for hostile operations in Europe is yet another tool of hybrid aggression that the Russian Federation is waging against Ukraine and the entire European community," HUR said.
The SBU caught a Russian agent as he was filming a military airfield in preparation for a Russian strike, the agency reported on June 15.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) recruited the unemployed 24-year-old via the Telegram messaging app to collect coordinates for air attacks on airfields and logistic depots, the SBU said.
The Russian FSB allegedly offered "easy money" and instructed the recruit to find military facilities and carry out reconnaissance on the ground.
Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) ignited an electrical substation during a sabotage operation in the Russian city of Kaliningrad, causing $5 million in damage and cutting electricity to a military production site, a source in HUR told the Kyiv Independent.
In the early hours of June 14, Ukrainian agents drained the coolant from the substation’s power transformer before setting the facility on fire. The inferno inflicted major damage on the facility and caused a power cut, impacting nearby Russian military sites.
"We once again remind you that Russia no longer has a rear either in the east, in the west, or anywhere else on the planet. Everything Russian involved in the war against Ukraine will burn, sink, and be destroyed regardless of its level of protection or location," the source said.
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Ukrainian agents sabotage an electrical substation in Kaliningrad, Russia. June 14, 2025. (HUR)
The attacks involve HUR, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) as well as partisan and sabotage groups.
HUR was behind explosions near Desantnaya Bay in Russia's far eastern Vladivostok on May 30, which reportedly damaged military personnel and equipment. The operations took place approximately 6,800 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, making it Ukraine's furthest incursion into Russian territory, if confirmed.
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