Vladimir Putin’s railways are being hit by an increasing number of sabotage attacks linked to the war in Ukraine.
It comes as three men face the death penalty in neighbouring Belarus - the only European country to still carry out capital punishment - for ‘blowing up a train line’ used to move Russian troops and weapons.
A further 57 could also be executed under draconian new Belarusian laws.
A rapid rise in attacks on Russian rail links - including the Trans-Siberian line - are seen as unprecedented action by opposition groups to undermine the military operation in Ukraine.
Some 63 freight trains were derailed in Russia from March to June 2022, reported The Insider independent media outlet.
“This is almost one-and-a-half times more than in the same period last year,” said a report.
Want the latest updates from across the globe? Sign up to receive our daily World News newsletter HERE
Many of the incidents - including bridges being exploded - were close to military bases where troops and weapons were involved in the war.
A map shows cases of suspected rail sabotage as well as attacks on military enlistment offices which have been rising, while it is also suspected cases have been hushed up.
In one example, 19 freight carriages were derailed, causing huge delays on the Trans-Siberian line, which has been used throughout the war by Putin to move troops and weaponry.
Anti-war activists took responsibility for this "sabotage" on 29 June.
A stop the war group has also claimed responsibility for rail attacks in Pskov, Rostov, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk and Krasnoyarsk regions among others.
Neighbouring Belarus has so far charged three suspected rail saboteurs under treason, terrorism and extremism laws that make it likely they will be executed if they are convicted of interrupting the movements of Putin’s war machine.
These are the first pictures of “saboteurs” Denis Dikun, 29, Dmitry Ravich, 33, and Oleg Molchanov, 52, accused of setting fire to a rail installation.
To opposition and anti-war groups, such people are seen as heroes for seeking to disrupt Putin’s war plans.
Senior official Uladzimir Shyshko said: “The investigation established that the criminal actions of the participants in this case, including support for a foreign organisation in causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus, constitute an act of betrayal of the fatherland - treason.”
The law was recently changed to allow for the death penalty in such cases as Minsk dictator Alexander Lukashenko backs Putin in his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
Some 57 others“train terrorists” are under investigation by the KGB secret police as “train terrorists” and all could face execution by shooting.
Belarus is the only country in Europe where the death penalty is carried out.
Dikun was alleged to be a member of an extremist group who recruited the two other men to an act which caused around £15,000 worth of damage at Zherd-Ostankovichi station, Gomel region, four days after Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February.
There were claims he faced violence before confessing.
Their action was aimed at “disrupting the schedule of Russian trains with equipment and weapons”, said one report.
"Committing these actions, the men may face a maximum punishment up to the death penalty,” said the committee.
The trio were detained on 4 March.
Dukin is the brother of co-accused Ravich’s wife Natalia.
Molchanov is the father of Dukin’s girlfriend Alisa Molchanova.
Both women were initially detained and then released.
