Russian media: Construction begins on railway linking Rostov-on-Don to occupied Crimea.

Construction is underway on a railroad between the Russian port city Rostov-on-Don and occupied Crimea via Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Nov.

6. Yevhen Balytsky, the head of Russia's proxies in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, told reporters that the railway will run from Yakymivka, near Melitopol, to Rostov-on-Don via Berdiansk and Mariupol. "This project has already started," he said.

Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to Melitopol's exiled mayor, said on Sept.

27 that Russia had begun to build rail links to occupied cities in Donetsk Oblast in order to reduce the Russian military's dependence on the Crimean Bridge. Balytsky also said the rail project would aid Russian military logistics by circumventing the bridge. "Because it is not only far to drive across the Crimean Bridge, but today the bridge is also a high-risk object," Balytsky said.

The Crimean Bridge, which connects the occupied peninsula with Russia's Krasnodar Krai, was severely damaged in a Ukrainian strike on July 17. Crimea is the central logistics hub for Russian forces in southern Ukraine. A Ukrainian strike on Nov.

4 damaged a Russian missile carrier at a shipyard in the Crimean city Kerch.

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky says military coming up with plans to 'move forward faster' and strike Russia 'unexpectedly' Key developments on Nov.

5: * Zelensky: Ukraine considers new military strategy * Military reports damaging Russian cruiser in occupied Crimea * Ukrainian forces repel Russian attack in five sectors * Russian missile strike on infrastructure injures 3 in Odesa Oblast * Zelensky says soldiers'...

News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University.

Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.