Russian railway in occupied territories vulnerable to AFU strikes - British intel

The UK Defense Ministry said this in an intelligence update published on X, Ukrinform reports.

It is noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced the construction of a railway line from Rostov-on-Don to Crimea. It will run through the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

According to the Russian president, the new line will ultimately reach Sevastopol and provide redundancy for the Kerch bridge. He also said that the first completed section restores access to Berdyansk.  

This railway connection passes through territory vulnerable to interdiction by Ukrainian long-range precision strike systems, British intelligence said.

The new railway line is nearly 60 km in length and took eight months to build.

"It is almost certainly one of the largest infrastructure projects Russia has carried out in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and re-established the rail connection denied by the fighting outside of Donetsk. It is likely one of the immediate objectives of the new line will be to support Russian activity in Mariupol," the report says.

British intelligence noted that Mariupol, which was destroyed by Russia in 2022, contains the Azovstal steel works and other heavy industry facilities that, although currently severely damaged, Russia may seek to repair and exploit in the future.

As reported, according to British intelligence, recent Ukrainian drone strikes have disabled major Russia’s oil refineries.