Bridge Attacks
At least seven people were killed and 69 others injured when two bridges were destroyed in separate bombing incidents in Russia’s border regions of Bryansk and Kursk, just hours apart, ahead of upcoming peace talks aimed at ending the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The blasts, which took place late Saturday and early Sunday, have raised tensions significantly as diplomatic efforts intensify.
According to Russian investigators, the first incident occurred at 10:50 p.m. local time in the Bryansk region, when a highway bridge collapsed over a railway line just as a passenger train carrying 388 people was passing beneath.
Dramatic images and footage circulated on Russian social media platforms showed wrecked carriages and dazed passengers attempting to climb out of the debris in darkness. The impact left several train cars mangled, with some trapped under the rubble of the collapsed road bridge.
Just four hours later, a second explosion was reported in the neighbouring Kursk region. This time, a railway bridge over a highway was blown up, causing the derailment of a freight train. The incident sent large debris and parts of the train crashing down onto the road below.
Russian officials suspect that the attacks are linked and have opened a criminal investigation. The Investigative Committee of Russia has confirmed that both structures were intentionally targeted and destroyed.
Alexander Bogomaz, Governor of the Bryansk region, confirmed the first blast, stating, “The bridge was blown up while the Klimovo-Moscow train was passing through with 388 passengers on board.”
While Russia has blamed Ukraine for escalating cross-border attacks, Kyiv has yet to comment officially on these latest incidents. The Ukrainian military intelligence agency, HUR, did report a separate explosion in Russian-occupied Yakymivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, where a Russian military train carrying fuel and equipment was derailed. However, the agency neither claimed responsibility nor attributed the act to any party.
These developments come at a critical time, just before planned U.S.-facilitated peace talks in Istanbul, which aim to end the war that began in February 2022. According to U.S. estimates, the conflict has resulted in over 1.2 million casualties.
The bridge explosions have further strained already fragile conditions and raised questions about the prospects of meaningful negotiations in the coming days.
