Russia building new railway line to Mariupol - British intelligence

Russia is constructing a new railway line to the temporarily occupied city of Mariupol to reduce travel times for supplies to the Zaporizhzhia front.

The UK Defense Ministry reported this on the X social media platform (formerly known as Twitter), referring to intelligence, according to Ukrinform.

According to the post, rail logistics continues to be a vital component in sustaining Russia's invasion. Russia uses its rail networks to move ammunition, armor, fuel and personnel into Ukraine.

The rail network in occupied Ukraine remains largely viable but vulnerable to sporadic interdiction by Ukrainian artillery, air launched missiles and sabotage. In previous conflicts, attrition of rail transportation has required focused, sustained, and repeated attack by air and/or ground forces, according to British intelligence.

"Russia almost certainly continues to maintain and improve its rail lines of communication in Ukraine and is constructing a new railway line to Mariupol which will reduce travel times for supplies to the Zaporizhzhia front," the Defense Ministry said.

Russia is using civilian contractors and equipment to complete this project, likely calculating this will complicate targeting efforts and preserve military railway troop capabilities for urgent tasks elsewhere.

The new line falls within the notional range of Ukrainian long-range precision strike systems, according to British intelligence.