Railway Explosion in Occupied Crimea, Russians Say It Was Sabotage

On May 18, an explosion occurred on a railway line in temporarily occupied Crimea, near Simferopol, which derailed eight wagons loaded with grain, Russian media reported.

“The movement of electric trains on the Simferopol-Sevastopol line has been suspended. A shuttle bus service will be organized for passengers. I’m keeping the situation under personal control,” the Russian-occupation head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov wrote in his Telegram channel.

The tracks were knocked out near the village of Chystenke, 9 kilometers from Simferopol. The explosion occurred at 7:45 a.m. when a freight train was moving along the railway, Russian media reported, citing a source in the emergency services.

“Eight wagons of grain derailed, and five of them overturned. About 50 meters of the railway track was damaged. A crater about 15 meters in diameter and about two meters deep was found at the site of the explosion,” the source said.

The Crimean Railway reported the explosion was due to “interference of unauthorized persons in the work of the railway transport.” Recovery trains have been sent to the scene of the accident.

Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, said: "The blown-up tracks were used to transport weapons, ammunition and equipment, so it is quite natural that these tracks have failed, and will not function for some time."

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The Crimean Railway has already been sabotaged in February. An explosion occurred 12 kilometers from Simferopol station. Even earlier, in August 2022, an explosion at a munition’s depot in the Dzhankoi region of Crimea damaged the railway.