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Pro-Ukraine partisans sabotage railway, disrupt Russian logistics 1,600 km from border, group claims

• 2 min read
Pro-Ukraine partisans sabotage railway, disrupt Russian logistics 1,600 km from border, group claims
Purported footage of a railway cabinet set ablaze by Atesh partisans, published on Sept. 17, 2025. (Atesh/Telegram)

Atesh partisans sabotaged railway infrastructure in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, disrupting Russian military logistics "in all strategic directions," the group claimed on Sept. 17.

An agent of the Ukrainian-founded partisan group set fire to a relay cabinet, Atesh said, publishing footage of the burning equipment at night.

Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city and the regional center of Sverdlovsk Oblast, lies far from the front lines in Ukraine, almost 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the nearest Ukrainian border.

"Ammunition, armored vehicles, fuel, and personnel bound for the front — as well as shipments to factories and depots in the north and east — passed through this junction," Atesh said.

The operation took place at a railway marshalling yard on the western outskirts of Yekaterinburg, part of the 7,150-kilometer (4,440-mile) Sverdlovsk Railway, according to a map published by Atesh. The date of the operation was not specified.

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Purported footage of a railway cabinet set ablaze by Atesh partisans, published on Sept. 17, 2025. (Atesh/Telegram)

"Now military trains are idling, which is damaging the (Russian) army's rear supply lines," Atesh said.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

The Atesh group regularly conducts sabotage operations on military infrastructure in occupied Ukrainian territory and deep within Russia.

Only last week, another Atesh operation allegedly destroyed a communications tower at an air defense factory in the Russian city of Tula.

Partisan operations and long-range Ukrainian strikes frequently target Russian railway infrastructure, aiming to disrupt the logistics and supply chains of Russia's Armed Forces.

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Martin Fornusek

Assistant Editor

Martin Fornusek is an assistant editor at the Kyiv Independent. Until recently, Martin held the role of foreign affairs reporter specializing in international and regional politics, history, and disinformation. Based in Lviv, Martin often reports on international politics, focusing on developments related to Ukraine and Russia. His career in journalism began in 2021 after graduating from Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, earning a Master's degree in Conflict and Democracy Studies. Martin has been invited to speak on Times Radio, France 24, Czech Television, and Radio Free Europe. He speaks English, Czech, and Ukrainian.

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