The mysterious Russian `Tsar Ship` steel line blocked the Ukrainian army from attacking 0
(Dan Tri) – Russian forces in Donetsk are said to be using thousands of freight trains as barricades to deal with Ukrainian troops near the front line.
Satellite images show an alleged Russian defense line of train carriages between the Olenivka area and Mariupol, Ukraine, in May 2023 and February 2024 (Photo: Sentinel Hub EO Browse).
According to Ukraine’s open-source intelligence tracking tool DeepState, the defense line was built from freight trains stretching between Olenivka and Volnovakha in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region.
DeepState said the continuous structure of train cars is about 30km long, containing about 2,100 freight cars and called it the `Tsar train`.
`This is a very specific technical structure, but the effectiveness is difficult to evaluate. The idea is very clear, to hinder the advance of the Ukrainian defense forces,` DeepState added.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, said the `Tsar train` could be set to act as a `line of defense against Ukrainian attacks in
However, according to ISW, the defensive line could also be established for undetermined reasons.
ISW added that satellite images from May 2023 and February 2024 show a long chain of train cars connecting the towns of Olenivka and Volnovakha.
`This can be considered a separate line of defense, because it is impossible to destroy, move or explode a series of 30km long metal blocks, or move equipment through this barrier without destroying them.
A freight train in Sevastopol, Crimea, an area annexed by Russia in 2014 (Photo: AFP).
Olenivka and Volnovakha are just a few kilometers east of the front lines, through Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where some of the fiercest fighting is taking place.
Olenivka is located east of Novomykhailivka, a town just south of Marinka, which Russian soldiers took control of in late December 2023.
Volnovakha lies southeast of Vuhledar, the besieged town south of Donetsk where Ukrainian and Russian forces have fought in the bloodiest battle in nearly two years.
According to ISW, the defense line connecting Olenivka and Volnovakha is less than 6.5km from the front line at the nearest point.
After Moscow takes control of Marinka, Serhiy Hrabsky, a military analyst and former Ukrainian army colonel, told Newsweek that Ukraine’s control over Novomykhailivka will be significantly reduced.
Analyst Hrabsky said that the Russian military tried its best to capture Vuhledar, but Ukraine will need to maintain control of this area because of its strategic value.
On February 12, the Ukrainian military said Russia carried out 32 attacks near Novomykhailivka and settlements near Krasnohorivka and Pobjeda.
Russia has built significant defenses along much of the Ukrainian front, including anti-tank trenches, mazes of trenches, `dragon’s tooth` obstacles and minefields.
This strategy was one of Russia’s important successes in the war in Ukraine and proved effective in stopping the advances of Kiev forces along the front line.
