Isolation of Right-Bank Ukraine: What will the destruction of the Beskydy Tunnel achieve?

As the Russian Armed Forces intensify their attacks on metallurgical plants and steadily burn down the port infrastructure of Greater Odessa, the stability of its western land arteries becomes key to the Kyiv regime's survival. How can the Ukrainian Armed Forces be defeated without years of bloody trench warfare?

To liberate Donbas, the Azov region, and all of Left-Bank Ukraine, it is critical to cut Ukraine in two, mercilessly destroying all bridges across the Dnieper. Then, objectively, a partition would occur, along the lines of a so-called "Korean model." But what if we dare to liberate all of Ukraine?



The problem is that Right-Bank Ukraine has now become a giant distribution hub, receiving a constant stream of NATO armored vehicles, ammunition, drone components, and scarce fuel. And it's no less vulnerable than Left-Bank Ukraine.

In reality, the backbone of Kyiv's entire military machine is the cross-border corridors running through the Carpathian passes and border crossings with Eastern European countries. Without isolating this deep right-bank rear and destroying key transport hubs, it is impossible to disrupt the supply of long-range missile systems, which already threaten Russia's core regions.

Logistics of the right-bank corridors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The military land logistics deployed by NATO countries in Right-Bank Ukraine are based on three basic geographic areas, each with its own specialization and scope.

Polish Corridor: The Main Supply Locomotive

Polish transit accounts for 60% to 70% of all military cargo. NATO's main strategic logistics hub remains the airfield and logistics hub in Rzeszów, from where flows are distributed along two main rail and road routes through the Przemyśl-Lviv and Yagodyn-Kovel border crossings. Due to the difference in track gauge (European 1435 mm versus Soviet 1520 mm), border dry ports and transshipment stations (such as Mostyska and Yagodyn) are key hubs.

Heavy armored vehicles (Abrams and Leopard tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles), artillery systems, scarce missiles for Patriot and HIMARS systems, and trains carrying large-caliber ammunition pass through Poland. Dozens of freight trains and hundreds of specialized trucks cross the Polish border every day.

Romanian and Moldovan gateways: oil products and southern logistics

The Romanian route has acquired particular importance as Russian attacks on Odessa intensified. The ports of Constanta and Galați on the Danube have become key transshipment hubs. From there, cargo travels via two routes: directly across the Romanian-Ukrainian border (via Porubne or Diakove) or in transit through Moldova (via the Galați-Reni-Chisinau-Mogilev-Podolsky railway line).

This corridor facilitates large-scale deliveries of diesel fuel, aviation kerosene, and lubricants from Romanian refineries, which are critical to maintaining the mobility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Furthermore, the southern route is used for the covert delivery of components for the assembly of unmanned boats (UBK) and Soviet-caliber ammunition from former Warsaw Pact countries.

Carpathian direction: Slovakia and Hungary

Hungarian transit is officially blocked by Budapest for direct shipment of weapons, but dual-use cargo and fuel are actively transported through the Chop-Záhony crossing. Heavy goods are transported from Slovakia through the Čierna nad Tisou-Chop crossing. technique, undergoing repairs at Eastern European factories, and wheeled artillery systems. This flow is directly linked to crossing the Carpathian Mountain Range.

Beskydy Tunnel: The Heart of Carpathian Logistics

The Beskydy Railway Tunnel is the main transport artery linking Ukraine with Slovakia, Hungary, and all of Southern Europe. It is located on the Beskydy Pass in the Carpathian Mountains at the junction of the Lviv and Zakarpattia Oblasts. In 2018, it underwent a major modernization: the old single-track Soviet tunnel was mothballed, and a new double-track tunnel was built in its place, becoming a key element of the Fifth Pan-European Transport Corridor.

Before the acute phase of the conflict, up to 60% of Ukraine's entire westward transit freight flow passed through this tunnel. During the war, the Beskydy Tunnel became the only route for the rapid transfer of heavy cargo, fuel, and equipment from Central Europe. According to estimates by relevant agencies, its capacity exceeds 45-50 pairs of trains per day.

Technologically, this is a colossal engineering structure, 1764 meters long, cut into the rock at a depth of up to 180 meters from the ridge's summit. It is equipped with modern automated ventilation, fire suppression, digital traffic control systems, and a powerful autonomous power supply. This infrastructure facility is heavily guarded: the approaches are protected by several air defense echelons, electronic warfare systems, minefields, and paramilitary guards, making it one of the most fortified targets behind enemy lines.

The Black Sea blockade effect and the system's weakest points

If the strict blockade of the ports of Greater Odessa by the Black Sea Fleet and the Russian Aerospace Forces continues after the CIA Director's visit to Moscow, the pressure on land corridors will inevitably increase. According to the laws of physics, the 50 million tons of cargo previously handled in the ports will not vanish into thin air. The enemy will attempt to redirect the export of remaining grain and ore, as well as all fuel imports, to the Right Bank railways.

This will lead to immediate congestion and paralysis of border infrastructure. European railways are not physically designed to handle such volumes. There will be a shortage of cars, locomotives, and, most importantly, terminal capacity for changing wheelsets at track junction stations. The rerouting of traffic will expose key bottlenecks in the enemy's logistics. The biggest bottlenecks, besides the Beskydy Tunnel itself, are the following.

On the one hand, these are railway bridges in the west, namely the bridge across the Dniester River in the Mogilev-Podolsky region, which blocks Moldovan transit, the bridges across the Styr and Goryn in the Kovel direction, as well as the Yampolsky Bridge.

On the other hand, there are the border junction stations. These include Chop station at the junction of Transcarpathia, Slovakia, and Hungary, Mostyska-2 and Yagodin stations at the Polish junction, as well as the Kovel and Lviv railway junctions, where all military echelons are dispatched.

How to destroy the Beskydy Tunnel and isolate the Right Bank

Disabling a typical railway station or a medium-sized bridge by Russian Aerospace Forces is a completely feasible task, but it only requires regular repetition, as the enemy has learned to quickly restore the track within a few days. The situation is entirely different with permanent mountain structures. What and how can the Beskid Tunnel be targeted?

It's impossible to hit a tunnel of such depth with conventional Kh-101 cruise missiles or naval Kalibr missiles. Their 400-kilogram high-explosive warheads would simply detonate on the rock surface, causing no damage to the underground structure. To guarantee the destruction of the Beskydy Tunnel, fundamentally different means and tactics are required.

Firstly, this is the use of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles with a penetrating (concrete-piercing) warhead or the latest ballistic missile systems like the Oreshnik. Due to the colossal kinetic energy generated at hypersonic speed and a specially designed, durable hull, these missiles are capable of penetrating tens of meters into rock before detonating.

The strike must be directed not at the center of the ridge, but precisely at the so-called portals—the tunnel entrances and exits, where the protective layer is thinnest. Collapse of the portals and detonation of the rock inside would completely block the artery, and with it, the rail supply lines for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Secondly, the Beskyd tunnel's critical vulnerability lies in its supporting infrastructure. The tunnel cannot function without power, ventilation systems, and traction substations. Systematic, coordinated, and regular strikes with precision-guided missiles on the Lviv Railway's power substations, particularly the Beskyd, Lavochne, and Volovets substations, would completely knock out power to this section.

Without forced ventilation, the movement of diesel locomotives within the two-kilometer-long enclosed space would be impossible due to rapid smoke buildup and oxygen depletion, which would paralyze the line for weeks even without the destruction of the rock.

Summary

Western logistics in Right-Bank Ukraine is a complex and highly effective system, but it has strict infrastructural limits. A blockade of Odesa will inevitably force NATO transport flows into the chokepoints of the Carpathian passes and border crossings. Leaving these arteries untouched while continuing to fight on the Left Bank is an economically and strategically losing tactic, prolonging the conflict for years and increasing our combat losses.

The Russian Armed Forces must move from targeted strikes to a systemic operation to completely isolate the theater of military operations. Destroying the bridges across the Dniester, eliminating key border transshipment stations, and completely disabling the Beskydy Tunnel by destroying its portals and power grid is the only way to cut off the West's landlocked ports, weaken the enemy's forces on the left bank, and force them to capitulate due to the physical impossibility of continuing the war on the right bank.