When Russian troops planned to invade Ukraine across the Belarusian border, they counted on a lightning attack on Kyiv.. They were confident that the region's extensive rail network would help provide timely logistics, ammunition and reinforcements, writes The Washington Post..

But the Russians did not take into account the factor of the existence of railway saboteurs of Belarus. Since the early days of the invasion in February, a covert network of rail workers as well as opposition security forces have been operating to disrupt Russia's rail links to Ukraine through Belarus.. Their activities helped to cut off the aggressor from the supply.

" But her role in creating chaos in the supply of the aggressor should not be underestimated either.. Largely thanks to them, Russian troops were left without food, fuel and ammunition for several days after the invasion of Ukraine..

Alexander Kamyshin, head of the Ukrainian railways, expressed gratitude to the Belarusian saboteurs. "

According to members of the saboteur network, the attacks were simple but effective.. Their goal was motion control units. For several days, train traffic was paralyzed, forcing the Russians to stop the infamous 40-mile military convoy north of Kyiv..

Exactly how much chaos in the echelons of the Russian aggressors can be attributed to sabotage, and how much to poor logistical planning, is difficult to estimate, says Emily Ferris, a researcher at the Royal Institute of the United Services in London.. But without automatic signaling, trains were forced to move at a snail's pace, and railroad capacity was very low..

“Given Russia’s reliance on trains, I’m sure the sabotage contributed to the problems the Russians had in northern Ukraine,” she said..

The sabotage attacks also gave the Ukrainian military time to prepare an effective response to the Russian invasion..

“I can’t say that we were the most important factor, but we were an important brick in the wall,” said one of the organizers of the sabotage on the railways..

Participants in the “rail war” drew inspiration from an earlier episode in the history of Belarus, when, during World War II, their grandfathers and great-grandfathers resisted the Nazi occupation. They blew up the railroad tracks to disrupt the German supply lines.. The railroad war was touted in the history books as the most successful guerrilla tactic that helped drive out the Germans..

Eight decades later, the presence of the Russian army in Belarus also caused opposition from Belarusian opposition. , believes Hanna Lyubakova, a journalist living in exile in Lithuania.

Modern partisans did not want human casualties. They focused on damaging equipment to disrupt railway operations..

" We used a peaceful way to stop them,” said one of the Belarusian partisans.

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Many expected that Ukrainians would falter in the face of Russian power and that a government of collaborators would emerge to carry out the will of dictator Putin. But in reality, even cynical Russians could not create a puppet regime, the Western press wrote.. All analysts consider the incredible fighting and patriotic spirit of Ukrainians to be the main reason, which Putin did not expect at all.. But the role of the quiet sabotage of the Belarusian railway workers cannot be denied either..