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Russia is building a new rail link to the occupied city of Mariupol

Russia is building a new rail link to the occupied city of Mariupol

Russia is building a new railway that will connect the occupied cities of Mariupol, Volnovakha and Donetsk with Russia, according to a Ukrainian official, CNN reports.

Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the mayor-in-exile of Mariupol, said the Russians “have started building a railway bridge near the village of Hranitne over the Kalmius River. If successful, this will allow the existing Mariupol-Aslanove-Kalchyk-Volnovakha line to connect directly to Taganrog and Rostov-on-Don.

Andriushchenko said that if this railway is completed, it will allow Russia to transport military and civilian supplies to the occupied territory in southern Ukraine without relying on the Crimean bridge.

The bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland has come under increasing attack by Ukrainian forces in recent months as they attempt to cut off supply lines to the peninsula.

Around Mariupol

The port city on the Sea of ​​Azov is located in the Donetsk region of Ukraine and has been under direct Russian control since May 2022. In Mariupol Russian forces carried out some of their most notorious attacks, including an attack on a hospital maternity ward and the bombing of a theater in which hundreds of civilians had sought refuge.

The city became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance during weeks of relentless Russian attacks last year.  

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