GORKI (Moscow Region) (Sputnik) — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that he had signed a document on the construction of a railway line to allow Russian trains to circumvent Ukrainian territory on their way to the country's south.
Currently, several short stretches of rail lines linking Moscow to southern Russia cut through Ukrainian territory several times, exiting and reentering the Russian regions of Voronezh and Rostov.
The new railway line will be constructed between Zhuravka railway station, in Russia's Voronezh Region, some 20 miles from the Ukraine border, and the town of Millerovo, in the Rostov Region.
Medvedev stressed that the new railway line is important both for civilian life and trade and cargo transportation.
The document signed on Monday will allow the railway authorities and local government to make the necessary decisions to ensure the construction of the railway section, Medvedev said.
"Obvious advantages" associated with the construction project include the development of housing, as well as social infrastructure near the new line and the creation of additional jobs, the prime minister stressed.
Following the reunification of Crimea with Russia in March 2014 and an escalation of the Ukrainian crisis later that year, Moscow's relations with Kiev deteriorated. Ukraine authorities have blamed Russia for interfering in its internal affairs, the allegations Moscow had repeatedly denied.
