An “explosive device” caused the derailment and fire of a freight train in a Russian region bordering Ukraine on Monday, without causing any casualties, according to the authorities.
While around 20,000 Russian fighters have died in Ukraine since December, according to the United States, a “explosive device” derailed and burned a freight train in Russia on Monday, May 1, without causing any casualties. In addition, Ukraine withdrew from the judo world championships in Qatar at the end of the week to protest against the presence of Russian athletes in this competition. Here is what to remember from this new day in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
In Russia, an “explosive device” derails a freight train near Ukraine
A “explosive device” caused the derailment and fire of a freight train in the Russian region of Bryansk bordering Ukraine on Monday, a rare incident which did not cause any casualties, according to the authorities. In full fear of sabotage operations and attacks in Russia, a high voltage line was also damaged on Monday by an explosive device in the Leningrad region, in northwestern Russia.
The incidents come a day after a Ukrainian strike that killed four people in a village in the Bryansk region and two days after a drone attack that caused a huge fire at an oil depot in annexed Crimea. Belarus, an allied country of Moscow serving as a rear base for Russian troops, has already reported sabotage on its railways in recent months and arrested people accused of having organized such actions.
According to the United States, 20,000 Russian fighters have died in Ukraine since December
US intelligence estimates that 20,000 Russian fighters have been killed in Ukraine since December, and another 80,000 wounded in action, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a press conference .
The official said half of the dead belonged to the Russian private military group Wagner, and were mostly former prisoners “thrown into the fighting in Bakhmout (eastern Ukraine) without training or sufficient military command”. “The conclusion is that Russia’s offensive has backfired”, assured John Kirby. On the other hand, he refused to comment on the losses suffered by Ukraine. “It is up to them to talk about it or not. I will never make public anything that makes it difficult for them. They are the victims, Russia is the aggressor”he explained.
Russian strikes: one dead in the south and 34 injured in eastern Ukraine
Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight from Sunday to Monday left one dead and three injured in the southern region of Kherson and 34 injured in the eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, local authorities said. Moscow fired missiles in the early hours of the day at Ukrainian towns, which Kiev forces say they mostly neutralized. “The Russian army targeted the living quarters of populated areas of the (Kherson) region and an official building in the center (of the city) of Kherson”the head of the local military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram.
Ukraine withdraws from Judo Worlds to protest against the presence of Russians and Belarusians
The Ukrainian Judo Federation announced on Monday that it would not send a delegation to the World Judo Championships in Qatar from May 7 to 14, due to the presence of Russian and Belarusian judokas. The Ukrainian federation claims that some of these judokas are also active soldiers. The International Judo Federation (IJF) gave the green light on Sunday to the presence of Russians and Belarusians at these world championships on the condition that they do so individually and as neutral athletes.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said at the end of March that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to “compete as neutral individual athletes”provided they do not “do not actively support the war in Ukraine” and don’t be “under contract” with the military or security agencies of both countries. However, the IOC has yet to make a decision on the participation of representatives from these two countries in the Paris Olympics in 2024.