Ukraine halts railway link to Kramatorsk indefinitely amid intense clashes in Donetsk

ISTANBUL

Ukraine on Wednesday announced halting the railway link to the city of Kramatorsk in the country’s eastern Donetsk region indefinitely amid security concerns stemming from intense clashes nearby between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin wrote on Telegram that the decision to halt train service to Kramatorsk, the administrative center of the eastern Ukrainian region, since Moscow captured Donetsk city in 2014, was made jointly with the state-owned railway company Ukrzaliznytsia.

Filashkin said the decision was made considering “security factors,” adding that train traffic would continue up to the administrative border between Donetsk and the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Moscow has repeatedly asserted territorial gains in recent months as part of the over three-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine war, particularly in Donetsk, where fighting has intensified around and, recently, within the city of Pokrovsk.

The frontline city serves as a critical logistics hub for Ukraine’s military operations and is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) southwest of Kramatorsk.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that clashes between its troops and “encircled” Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk are ongoing, adding that its offensive toward the north of the settlement continues.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff reaffirmed Kyiv’s rejection that its troops in the area are encircled, saying in a statement earlier Wednesday that measures are being taken to prevent Russian forces from trying to “infiltrate and accumulate” in the city.

Ukrzaliznytsia also commented on the train service halt in a statement, saying the company will be temporarily diverting trains heading to Kramatorsk to stations in the settlements of Husarivka or Barvinkove in the Kharkiv region. The two settlements are situated near Kharkiv’s administrative border with Donetsk.

In this context, it was also noted that the regional administration is organizing bus shuttles for passengers heading to Kramatorsk or the nearby city of Sloviansk.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and will resume traffic as soon as it becomes possible,” it added.

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