Frag Out! Magazine

after the ाincident, the involvement of Russian services has become clear. The identities of the direct perpetrators have been established, and they are currently have been assigned 'wanted status'. They are two Ukrainian nationals, Yevhenii Ivanov and Oleksandr Kononov. The former had previously been convicted in absentia by a Ukrainian court for attempting to attack a drone assembly facility in Lviv. They are believed to have been recruited by Russian intelligence and received at least limited training. However, as direct operatives, they should be viewed as expendable assets. The execution of the attack was relati- vely unsophisticated, as they likely received instructions and materials, but professional saboteurs would probably have carried out the operation more effectively. For example, a 300-meter wire was reportedly used for detonation, despite the availability of more effective triggering methods, such as remote detonation or pressure fuzes activated by a passing train. It also remains unclear whether the objective was to derail any train or a specific target. Unfortunately, the November attack did not mark the end of such threats. In late December, a Polish national was arre- sted and remanded in custody after collecting information on railway infrastructure and military transport movements, likely intended for Russian intelligence. Further attacks appear to be only a matter of time. For now, they remain relatively ineffective, but that may change. Deliberately derailing a train is, in fact, a complex undertaking (as illustrated, for example, in OSS instructional materials from World War II). Railway rolling stock, whether locomoti- ves, wagons, or multiple units, is typically mounted on bogies, each with two (sometimes three) axles. While alternative configurations exist, they are less common. From a sabotage perspective, the key point is that this is a relatively stable system: a typical passenger carriage rests on eight wheels (two bogies, each with two axles). Combined with operational speeds, on main lines typically ranging from 80 to 160 km/h, the dynamics make derailment more difficult. A train can pass over a sufficiently small damaged section of track much like a car jumping a gap at speed - think of Burt Reynolds crossing a river in a TransAm. To cause a derailment, it is generally necessary to create a substantial break in the rails, preferably on both rails, or to use a specialized device. A derailer, as it is known, is a shaped steel device placed on the rail to force wheels off the track. In standard railway practice, it is used as a safety measure on sidings, ensuring that runaway rolling stock derails before entering main lines. These devices are movable and only engaged when required. However, they can also be used for sabotage by placing them on active tracks, this may have been the intended purpose of the metal object found near Puławy Azoty. www.fragoutmag.com

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