Railroad built by Russians to bypass Crimea bridge has limitations - expert

He spoke about this on Espreso TV.

"The Russians can use this railroad to transport everything that can be delivered by rail, including tanks on open platforms, shells in covered wagons, and fuel in tanks. Based on the available materials, fortunately, this railroad has certain limitations. First, it is a single-track railroad line under diesel locomotive traction, which means that up to 10 trains a day can pass through it, no more. And also at the appropriate speed of about 20-30 km/h, because transport locomotives cannot pull more," noted the Defence Express military expert.

According to him, the second nuance is that satellite images show the beginning of a certain train movement, and it is already clear that the Russians cannot let a full echelon of 54 cars pass. They have to make up 10-20 cars.

"In addition, this railroad runs about 100 kilometers from the contact line. That is, as soon as there is confirmation that the railroad has started full-fledged traffic with up to 10 trains per day, and we have additional long-range missiles, it is better to send 20 extra ATACMS to disrupt the railroad connecting Taganrog and the temporarily occupied Mariupol than to waste missiles on the Crimean bridge. Paradoxical as it may sound, with all the limitations of the railroad, it is much more important in the military logistics of the occupiers than the Crimean bridge itself," Ivan Kyrychevskyi summarized.

Railroad connecting Russia's Taganrog and temporarily occupied Mariupol 

On September 27, 2023, the advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, said that the Russians were trying to build a direct railway connection between Russia and the temporarily occupied cities of Donetsk region - Mariupol, Volnovakha, and Donetsk.

On October 2, 2023, it became known that Russians were building a road from Rostov-on-Don to the temporarily occupied Mariupol.

On January 11, the then-mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, said that the invading forces intended to build a railroad line connecting Mariupol, Melitopol, and Crimea for their logistics in Ukraine.

On March 18, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said that the railroad from Rostov-on-Don to Donetsk, Mariupol, and Berdiansk had allegedly been restored.

The UK Defense Ministry emphasized that the railroad built by the Russians in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is vulnerable to precision strikes by the Ukrainian side.

On March 31, the head of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the construction of a railroad by Russian troops in the temporarily occupied territories could pose a problem for Ukraine.

On April 1, it was reported that the Russians were building the Rostov-Crimea railroad to supply their troops in the temporarily occupied territories of southern Ukraine, as the enemy cannot do so through the Crimean bridge.

On April 30, Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, spoke about plans for the railroad that Russians are building in southern Ukraine from Rostov to Crimea.