Video Shows Derailed Russian Train in Flames After Hitting Explosive Device

Video posted to social media on Monday showed the aftermath of a Russian freight train striking an explosive device near the Ukrainian border.

The train struck the device while moving along the Bryansk-Unecha railway in the eastern Unechsky District, causing it to derail, Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz wrote in a Telegram post on Monday, noting that no one was killed in the explosion.

"As a result of the incident, two locomotives and seven wagons derailed. The rest of the cars were driven to a safe distance," Bogomaz wrote. "There were no casualties."

While it remains unknown who placed the explosive device on the tracks, the explosion comes as fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war continues. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the Ukraine "special military operation" in February 2022, but his forces have struggled to make progress, as fighting remains concentrated in eastern Ukraine more than 14 months after the war began. Bryansk, one of Russia's easternmost regions, has seen some spillover from the fighting in Ukraine.

Bogomaz said the explosion went off near the 136th kilometer between Bryansk and Unecha. Newsweek reached out to the Russian government press service for comment via email.

Videos showing the train engulfed in a blaze emerged on social media Monday morning. Footage posted by Belarusian news outlet NEXTA was viewed more than 30,000 times.

Authorities have since extinguished the fire, according to Bogomaz. Bogomaz did not say who Russia believes is responsible for the explosion, and Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, though it typically does not do so for attacks within Russian borders.

The Russian Railways company, in a statement also posted to Telegram, blamed the explosion only on "unauthorized persons," adding that the detonation led to the suspension of traffic along the railroad.

Russia-Ukraine War: Fighting Spills Into Bryansk Region

Bryansk shares a border with Ukraine to its south and Belarus to its west, meaning the region has been in close proximity to some of the fighting amid the Russia-Ukraine war, though most of the combat has occurred on the Ukrainian side, particularly further south in recent months.

The explosion follows a previous attack just days earlier. Ukraine's military conducted shelling over a Bryansk village, Suzemka, Saturday evening, leaving four civilians dead, according to Reuters. Bogomaz blamed the shelling, which also completely destroyed a residential building, on Ukrainian nationalists.

In March, Russia claimed it was fighting off a terrorist attack, accusing Ukrainian troops of crossing the border into Bryansk, firing at citizens and taking up to six hostages. Ukraine, however, said it played no part in this attack.

The derailment also comes as speculation continues to mount that Ukraine could be gearing up for a new counteroffensive. In the fall counteroffensive, Ukraine reclaimed thousands of miles of occupied territory, delivering a major blow to Putin's war effort. Now, as the weather warms up, military analysts believe Ukraine could again seek to drive Russian troops out of their territory, potentially including Crimea, a region Russia annexed in 2014.