Yesterday, loaded flatcars carrying another batch of Iskander-M operational-tactical missile systems arrived in Belarus.
We previously reported in our publication of June 27, 2023 on the dispatch of empty railcars from Belarus to Kapustin Yar station (Volga Railway) for loading. The consignor of the railcars sent for loading was the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus.
On August 23, 2023, a troop train was dispatched from Tayga station (West Siberian Railway) to Osipovichi-I station (Mogilev Division of the Belarusian Railway). It consisted of 12 flatcars loaded with sets of Iskander-M operational-tactical missile systems (9P78-1 self-propelled launchers, 9T250 transporter-loader vehicles and 9S552 command and staff vehicles).
The troop train arrived at Orsha-Central station on 2023-08-30 at 03:30 (Minsk time) via the Krasnoe (Russian Federation)-Osinovka (Republic of Belarus) transfer section.
The troop train arrived at the destination station (Osipovichi-I) on 2023-08-30 around 09:30 (Minsk time).
The route of the troop train to Osipovichi-I station: Tayga (Russian Railways) → Omsk-Severny (Russian Railways) → Voynovka (Russian Railways) → Saransk (Russian Railways) → Penza-II (Russian Railways) → Vyazma (Russian Railways) → Smolensk (Russian Railways) → Krasnoe junction (Russian Railways) → Osinovka (Belarusian Railway) → Orsha-Central (Belarusian Railway) → Orsha-Vostochnaya (Belarusian Railway) → Mogilev-II (Belarusian Railway) → Drut (Belarusian Railway) → Osipovichi-II (Belarusian Railway) → Osipovichi-I (Belarusian Railway).
As previously reported, this group of cars was sent empty for loading to Kapustin Yar station in two dispatches (the first on 2023-05-15 – 37 cars and the second on 2023-05-17 – 50 cars), totaling 87 cars. Most of these cars remained idle from May to August 2023, awaiting loading, before being sent for loading to Tayga station (West Siberian Railway).
Also in May 2023, 15 cars from the specified dispatch returned from Kapustin Yar station (Volga Railway) to Belarus with S-400 air and missile defence systems. Thus, considering the 12 cars that arrived on 2023-08-30 with loaded Iskander-M operational-tactical missile systems, approximately 60 more cars remain in the Russian Federation awaiting the loading of military equipment.
Given the above, it can be assumed that this is not the last delivery of this type of weaponry to the Republic of Belarus.
It is noteworthy that an entire train consist of approximately 80 cars was withdrawn from economic circulation for three months. This is a very “efficient” approach in conditions of car shortages and refusals to Belarusian consignors for loading. But for the military, “anything goes,” and the railway workers will pay the costs. Moreover, the geography of the empty run of these cars is also quite “extensive” – they covered a total of about 4,500 km – first closer to the Caspian Sea, and then to Siberia. Apparently, this is how “smart people optimized” the route and tried to disorient someone.
