Photographs of the bridge in Russia’s Belgorod region showed that part of the railway had been forced to go up, possibly due to an explosion. The photos, as well as news of the incident, were first published on Tuesday by the local Russian governor and local media. “There are no casualties,” Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote in an online statement. “Only the railway line has been damaged. I will inform you of the reasons later.” The incident comes as Russia has begun militarizing its border areas near Ukraine, warning of threats, setting up military checkpoints and mobilizing locals in the city, signaling that Russia’s military effort is shifting to eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has not confirmed whether it is behind the attack on the railway bridge, which commentators say would make sense as a cross-border raid aimed at slowing down the movement of heavy artillery and other military vehicles from Russia needed to prepare a attack in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Russia relies heavily on railways to move its military equipment. The bridge is located just four miles from the border on a railway line that runs south to Ukraine and is located on a supply line between Russia and the land that holds near the town of Izyum near Donbas. Ukrainian intelligence services have warned that Russia may be preparing a “fake flag” attack that could justify a new attack in the coming weeks. Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the war would continue “until it is complete and we can achieve our goals”, accusing the West of forcing Russia to attack Ukraine. He also denied allegations that Russian soldiers committed war crimes in the Ukrainian city of Butsa. Ukrainian officials have said that Russia may seek to mobilize public opinion to support the war by launching attacks that could later be blamed on Ukraine. “Russian intelligence services are planning a series of terrorist attacks by bombing and destroying residential buildings, hospitals and schools in Russian settlements,” said General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, in a statement. He added that Belgorod, along with cities in Crimea, could be among those targeted. “Active trenches are being dug in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, there is panic over a fantastic attack by Ukrainian volunteer battalions and diversion groups,” he said. Russia had previously claimed that Ukraine had targeted a fuel dump in a helicopter raid earlier this month. Ukraine has denied responsibility for the attack, with a senior official saying “everything that happens on Russian soil is Russia’s responsibility.” As Russia shifts its military eastward, there are indications that the military is stepping up controls in its border areas. Six Russian regions on the border with Ukraine raised their terrorist threat levels on Monday, citing fears of “challenges”. The photos showed that new vehicle checkpoints had been set up in the Kursk and Belgorod areas, with police stopping drivers and searching cars. In Belgorod, a Russian city just 18 miles from the border, the mayor called on locals on Tuesday to join neighborhood monitoring teams. “The duties… include patrolling the streets at night and at night, as well as assisting the police in maintaining law and order,” the order said, according to state media. The Belgorod area also banned the use of crackers and fireworks “so as not to frighten people with unnecessary loud noises,” reports said. Russia’s railways appear particularly vulnerable during congestion. The so-called “railway guerrillas” in Belarus carried out more than a dozen acts of sabotage in the first weeks of the war in an attempt to disrupt the supply of trains traveling from Belarus to Russian units stationed in northern Ukraine. Attacks on relay switches and other infrastructure had closed long distances, including the line from Minsk to the besieged Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. In January, Belarussian opposition to Alexander Lukashenko told the Guardian that they had violated the country’s railway system in an attempt to disrupt the Russian military coup that preceded its invasion of Ukraine.
