Donetsk region, Ukraine. Footage posted online by Ukrainian fighters shows repeated sabotage attacks on a railroad network Russia is building across occupied Ukrainian territories, as a Reuters investigation details Moscow’s expanding infrastructure push. A Ukrainian fighter operating behind enemy lines said the attacks have had limited impact as Russian control tightens.
Sabotage efforts and Russian rail expansion
The Ukrainian fighter, identified as Orest by his military call-sign for security reasons, told Reuters he operates behind enemy lines in the Donetsk region and that the attacks on Russia’s supply chains have made scant impact. “The railroad is hundreds of kilometres long,” he said. “We’re not all-powerful, unfortunately.”
Investment and integration of occupied areas
According to the Kremlin, the occupied regions represent “Novorossiya”: New Russia. Reuters reported that Russia is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into a years-long buildout of transport and trade infrastructure in areas it has captured in eastern and southern Ukraine, even as it continues fighting Ukrainian forces to the west.
The Reuters investigation found the spending, which it said dwarfs development funds allocated to other Russian regions, facilitates the transport of troops and military equipment, as well as grain and mineral resources. Reuters also reported that the construction projects support a longer-term goal of integrating seized territories into Russia, including the Donbas area, which it said is central to U.S.-backed talks to end the war.
How Reuters compiled its findings
Reuters said its reporting provides a detailed picture of changes in Russian-held parts of Ukraine under occupation, based on an analysis of thousands of satellite images, official Russian tender documents, public statements, export and freight data, and interviews with more than three dozen Ukrainian officials and former residents of occupied areas.
Responses from Ukraine, the United States, and Russia
When asked about Russia’s infrastructure buildup in occupied territories, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy cited Crimea, saying Russian investments there are a “facade” that do not benefit residents of the peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. “It doesn’t look like some modern resort,” Zelenskiy said in an interview. “It’s all militarized.” Zelenskiy’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the full findings of the Reuters investigation.
A White House official said U.S. President Donald Trump is working very hard to end the war and wants to end the senseless killing.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters the four territories are an integral part of the Russian Federation and “subjects of Russia,” adding: “It is written in the constitution of the country.”
What do you think the reported infrastructure buildout means for the occupied territories and the broader conflict?
