From
<https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/31/belarus-railway-rebels-dare-stop-vladimir-putins-invasion-tracks/>

In small towns across Belarus, a daring alliance of “railway rebels” are
waging a quiet war against Vladimir Putin’s invading army.

Under the cover of darkness, residents in crucial junction towns steal on
to the nearby tracks and do whatever they can to stop Russian resupply
trains from being able to pass through on the way to Ukraine.

Some place large logs on the railway sleepers and set fire to them. Others
torch the electric relay cabinets - a crucial piece of equipment that
controls traffic and can take weeks to repair.

These partisans choose their targets based on leaked intelligence from
railway workers on their side; information such as the schedule of a
military train carrying Russian weapons, but disguised as an ordinary
shipment of glass. If these rebels have anything to do with it, the train
will not reach the front line in Ukraine any time soon.

More than a dozen major acts of sabotage have been reported across the
Belarusian railway network in recent weeks in what has been dubbed a
“railway resistance”, as anti-war opposition activists seek to derail
Moscow’s efforts to resupply its beleaguered troops around Kyiv through
Belarus.

In the most recent incident, traffic between two stations on the railway
between Minsk and Ukraine’s Chernihiv was halted on Monday after two relay
cabinets were burned down.

Belarus is a key launchpad for invasion

The overall effect has been significant. Belarus is a key launchpad for
Russia’s invasion of the north of Ukraine and this is Moscow’s route into
Kyiv’s northern suburbs as well as the city of Chernihiv in the north east.

“It’s a real nuisance for the Russian military: Their safety protocols for
moving the trainloads are compromised,” Siarhei Voitekhovich, a former
Belarusian Railways employee who now coordinates the work of Belarusian
“railway partisans” from exile, told The Telegraph.

“Equipment gets destroyed. It takes hours, days, to put things back in
operation.”

The Belarusian opposition in exile said it has been coordinating the
attacks through a network of supporters still inside the country who have
signed up to help the underground resistance.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader in exile, has
called on Belarusians to do everything in their power to foil Russia’s
invasion, saying her movement’s goal was to “cripple the infrastructure
that is helping the regime to support the war, gradually, day by day.”

Major acts of sabotage were reported within the days of the Russian
invasion, with crucial signal equipment destroyed in three different
locations on the night of February 28.

The response from the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian
dictator and now little more than a puppet for the Kremlin, has been swift
and severe.

At least 52 people, including over 30 railway workers, have been detained
on charges including treason, terrorism and spying, according to Belarusian
investigators and Viasna, Belarus’ major human rights group.

In some cases, whole towns have been penalised. Residents in Stoubtsy, a
town of 17,000 just south west of Minsk, report being “terrorised” by
Belarus’ much-feared organised crime unit in the past three weeks, with a
spate of arrests and police raids worse even than during Mr Lukashenko’s
crackdown on the opposition movement in 2020.

“There is no other way to describe it other than a punitive operation. They
barge into people’s homes, break down the doors. The only goal is to track
down those behind the attacks,” a human rights activist in the town, who
requested anonymity for fear of persecution, told The Telegraph. “Violence
and torture is rampant.”

Forced confessions

They said they had documented 32 arrests and police raids since a special
task force from Minsk was sent into town at the end of February.

One of those arrested, Siarhei Hlebko, was forced to make a confession
despite showing clear signs of being beaten, with injuries on his nose and
forehead - a typical Belarusian tactic. He was accused of putting logs of
wood on the tracks and setting them on fire.

Similar forced confessions emerged on Wednesday on a pro-government social
media account showing eight detained railway employees admitting to being
involved.

The videos show Belarusian authorities are keen to make it clear that they
are clamping down hard on railway saboteurs, describing them as
“terrorists”.

“We don’t talk to terrorists, we are destroying them,” the country’s
interior ministry said of the charges facing Mr Hlebko and others.

Yet most of the acts of sabotage are being carried out by ordinary
Belarusians who are disillusioned and frustrated with their government’s
decision to side with Moscow.

It’s risky work, but it’s as much as they can do, said former railway
worker Mr Voitekhovich, who fled Belarus last year to join the opposition
movement in exile.

“Those who work on the railway are under constant risk. They risk at least
15 years in prison if they are caught.”

Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
> From
> <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/31/belarus-railway-rebels-dare-stop-vladimir-putins-invasion-tracks/>

>
> Belarus is a key launchpad for invasion

>
> The Belarusian opposition in exile said it has been coordinating the
> attacks through a network of supporters still inside the country who have
> signed up to help the underground resistance.
>
> Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader in exile, has
> called on Belarusians to do everything in their power to foil Russia’s
> invasion, saying her movement’s goal was to “cripple the infrastructure
> that is helping the regime to support the war, gradually, day by day.”
>
> Major acts of sabotage were reported within the days of the Russian
> invasion, with crucial signal equipment destroyed in three different
> locations on the night of February 28.
>
> The response from the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian
> dictator and now little more than a puppet for the Kremlin, has been swift
> and severe.
>
>
>
> The videos show Belarusian authorities are keen to make it clear that they
> are clamping down hard on railway saboteurs, describing them as
> “terrorists”.
>
> “We don’t talk to terrorists, we are destroying them,” the country’s
> interior ministry said of the charges facing Mr Hlebko and others.
>
> Yet most of the acts of sabotage are being carried out by ordinary
> Belarusians who are disillusioned and frustrated with their government’s
> decision to side with Moscow.
>
> It’s risky work, but it’s as much as they can do, said former railway
> worker Mr Voitekhovich, who fled Belarus last year to join the opposition
> movement in exile.
>
> “Those who work on the railway are under constant risk. They risk at least
> 15 years in prison if they are caught.”
>
>

Brave people, The FIL and MIL used to host a Belarusian boy on some sort of
visit programme but the last visit was over 10 years ago now. The final
communication was shortly after when he would have been about 17 and
compared to previous ones wasn’t much more than hello ,thanks, goodbye.
No further attempts to see how he was faring were made in case contacts
from someone in the West
would get him trouble, we do wonder what his life is like now and of course
he could beca supporter of the regime or just living quietly under it.

I do wonder if this conflict goes on the West unwilling to face the
Russians head on might start to see if they can create mischief in Belarus
to remove an ally of Putin and create another unfriendly state
on their border.

GH

Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
> From
> <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/31/belarus-railway-rebels-dare-stop-vladimir-putins-invasion-tracks/>
>
> In small towns across Belarus, a daring alliance of “railway rebels” are
> waging a quiet war against Vladimir Putin’s invading army.

There was also this story from January:
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/01/hactivists-say-they-hacked-belarus-rail-system-to-stop-russian-military-buildup/

Theo