Pro-Ukraine partisans sabotage railway track near Russia's Smolensk

Members of Ukraine's Atesh partisan group have set fire to a relay cabinet at a Russian railway track used by the Russian military, the group said on May 15.

The operation was allegedly carried out in Russia's Smolensk Oblast, a western region bordering Belarus, to disrupt arms and equipment shipments to Russian forces stationed at Ukraine's northeastern border.

The Ukrainian leadership has warned that Moscow is amassing forces near Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts in the northeast for a potential new offensive.

"Thanks for the courageous steps by our partisans, Russia faced serious disruption in timely deliveries of front-line supplies," Atesh said on Telegram.

A video shared by the partisans shows an unknown person behind the camera setting fire to the relay cabinet at night. According to the partisans, the targeted equipment was located close to the city of Smolensk, some 270 kilometers (170 miles) north of the Russia-Ukraine border.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

The Atesh movement regularly commits sabotage attacks on Russian territory and in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

"Our work is not limited to one operation. We operate along the entire front, creating difficulties for Russia and restricting its capabilities," the group said.