Russians build railway to Berdyansk, but it's vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes

The Russian regime is constructing a railway in the occupied territories of Ukraine. However, it is vulnerable to precision strikes by Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defense of Britain. Russian president Vladimir Putin announced on March 18th the construction of a railway branch from Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia through temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to Crimea. According to Putin, the first segment of the railway allegedly restores access to Berdyansk. However, British intelligence emphasizes that the existing railway passes through territory vulnerable to Ukrainian long-range precision strike systems. The new railway branch, nearly 60 km long, south of Donetsk, was under construction for eight months. "It is almost certainly one of the largest infrastructure projects Russia has carried out in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and re-establishes the rail connection denied by the fighting outside of Donetsk," the summary states. At the same time, intelligence believes that one of Russia's goals will be to support activity in Mariupol. The British Ministry of Defense stated that Russians are likely to seek to restore Azovstal and other facilities destroyed in 2022. Russian forces seized Mariupol and its district in the spring of 2022 after months of fierce fighting. Afterward, the occupiers turned the ruined city into their military base. According to satellite images published online, Russian occupiers intend to connect Mariupol with Russian cities such as Rostov and Taganrog and other major cities in the Donbas. They have already begun construction of a road. The road will pass far from settlements. This may be linked to the difficulties arising from expanding an existing road.