The news crackled across the border, detailing the twin bridge collapses in Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk regions. Trains derailed, lives lost, and chaos ensued. In the Ukrainian Presidential Administration, a deliberate silence settled. No statements were issued, no official condemnations or denials. The reason? Ukraine had nothing to do with it.
This wasn’t the first time. Throughout the conflict, a disturbing pattern had emerged: acts of sabotage deep within Russian territory that bore no discernible link to Ukrainian forces. Railway tracks damaged, infrastructure disrupted, and now, bridges obliterated. Each incident left the Kremlin scrambling, quick to point fingers at Kyiv, yet Ukrainian intelligence had no operational involvement.
While the attacks undoubtedly served Ukraine’s strategic interests by disrupting Russian logistics and sowing internal disquiet, the lack of a clear perpetrator was a double-edged sword. There was a grim satisfaction in seeing Russia face internal strife, a taste of its own medicine, perhaps. But the chilling reality was that these “unidentified third parties” were an unpredictable element. Today, their ire was directed at Russia. Tomorrow, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t turn towards Ukraine. The war was already fraught with peril; the emergence of unknown, independent actors added another layer of terrifying uncertainty to an already brutal conflict.
All names of people and organizations appearing in this story are pseudonyms
Russia says blasts led to deadly train crashes in regions bordering Ukraine
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