Belarusian citizen charged with train explosions on key railway in Russia’s Far East remanded into custody until January 30

The Omsk Central District Court has remanded Belarusian citizen Sergey Eremeev into custody until January 30 on charges of blowing up two trains on the Baikal–Amur Mainline railroad (BAM) in Russia’s Republic of Buryatia. TASS reports that during his court appearance, Eremeev stated his intention was to disrupt railway operations to hinder the transportation of military cargo.

Investigators allege that in the fall of 2023, Eremeev was given at least seven unidentified explosive devices by “members of an organized criminal group,” which he then transported from Belarus to Russia. According to TASS, Eremeev received a monetary award for his actions.

On November 29, a freight train caught fire in the Severomuysky Tunnel on the BAM. After the fire, trains were rerouted to a detour where a second explosion occurred. Ukrainian media, citing sources in the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), reported that the explosion was a Ukrainian intelligence operation. CNN, citing its own SBU sources, also reported that the agency was behind the blast. On December 7, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that a Belarusian citizen, acting in the interests of Ukrainian special services, had been arrested in connection with the explosions.