Belarusian “partisans” closed the rail to thwart the Russian army

In 2022, sabotage is not just taking place on the ground. Much of the rail warfare is waged by “Cyberpartisans”, a group of 35 hackers who shut down entire systems or infect them with ransomware. “This is how we stop the Russian advance. We cannot prevent arms deliveries, but we can significantly delay them,” Yuliana Shemetovets said. She works from abroad as a spokesperson for the action group.

Cyberpartisans have been active for years and previously managed to hack into, among others, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus. “The attack on the railroad is our biggest action yet. We can’t tell you about future plans, but we will continue.”

One Man Actions

Belarusian authorities narrowly manage to fend off cyberattacks. The country had a large IT sector, but after protests against Lukashenko’s fraudulent re-election, many IT workers left the regime or left the country. After the online sale of train tickets was stopped, it took two weeks for the system to be operational again.

According to Shemetovets, ordinary citizens are not threatened by sabotage actions. “We cannot rule out accidents, but we are trying to attack military trains very specifically.” The cyber partisan says that there is close collaboration with the people on the ground, who, for example, blow up railway lockers. Additionally, there are individual actions, suspects Shemetovets, as online manuals for sabotage actions are shared.

Opposition to Russia is not limited to rail. Also in Ukraine, volunteers from Belarus active in combat against the Russian army. Fighting there and rail sabotage does not mean opposition to Lukashenko is becoming more violent, opposition leader Latushka said. “We promise the fighters against Russian aggression that they will not be prosecuted once Lukashenko is ousted and we are in power.”

Cyber-supporters say they are open to talking with Belarusian authorities. “If they need the rail to remove military equipment from Ukraine, we will cooperate.”