Russia still building railway from Rostov-on-Don to Crimea through Zaporizhzhia Oblast — governor

Currently, the construction of a railway from Rostov-on-Don through the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts to the temporarily occupied Crimea is underway, Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on the national telethon.

Most of the construction is moving from Donetsk Oblast to Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

"The enemy is building an extremely important logistical artery for themselves, which will definitely be a problem for us, so we should do everything possible to prevent them from implementing it," he noted.

On March 31, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Kyrylo Budanov confirmed that the Russian forces are building a railway line from Rostov to the temporarily occupied Crimea. The process is almost complete.

In October 2023, it was reported that Russia is building a new road from Rostov-on-Don to the temporarily occupied Mariupol.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced the restoration of the Rostov-Donetsk-Mariupol-Berdyansk railway line, which in the future could reach Sevastopol and become an alternative to the Kerch Bridge.

Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine's military intelligence, reported that the construction of the railway branch is a "serious challenge and threat", but at the same time, it is a "significant goal" for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.