Russian authorities called the operation a deliberate sabotage act and suspected Ukraine was behind it.
In the first incident, at around 22:50 on the night of May 31 local time, in Bryansk province, southern Russia, a bridge suddenly exploded and collapsed onto the railway line at the same time a train carrying 388 passengers was approaching.
The bridge collapse caused the train to derail, killing 7 people and injuring 69 others, according to the announcement of Bryansk Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz.
Local authorities confirmed that this was not a technical accident, but a deliberate bombing.
"The bridge on the highway exploded just as the passenger train was going below," said Mr. Bogomaz.
Russian media quoted the Russian Railway Company as saying that the bridge collapse was the result of "illegal intervention in railway traffic activities".
The Moscow Inter-regional Traffic Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into the cause of the incident.
The second bridge collapse occurred 1 hour later, at around 11:21 p.m. Moscow time. The railway bridge in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk Oblast - also bordering Ukraine - suddenly collapsed just as freight trains were running through. The locomotive and 3 train cars plunged into the road below, burning fiercely at night. One boat driver is believed to have suffered a leg injury.
According to the authority of Kursk Governor - Mr. Alexander Khinshtein, the fire has been controlled but the road under the bridge is currently temporarily closed.
Although the two bridge collapses occurred hundreds of kilometers apart, they were both in the border area of Ukraine, which was frequently attacked during the war. A Russian security source said the investigation is aiming at the possibility of this being a well-organized terrorist act.
Russian Sen. Andrey Klishas said on Telegram: "Ukraine has now become a borderless terrorist land without legitimate rule." He also called for the establishment of a "deep buffer zone in Ukraine" to protect Russia from similar attacks.
Ukraine has not yet responded officially to the accusations from Russia.
