Ukraine withdraws from railway agreement with CIS countries

Reuters:  Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday that the country has finally withdrawn from the railway agreement reached with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a supranational entity made up of nine of the fifteen former republics of the Soviet Union.

"Ukraine has completed the procedure of withdrawal from the agreement on the Coordination of Railway Transport Bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States. This initiative seeks to eliminate any formal relations with the aggressor country (Russia) and its allies," the state railway transport company Ukrzaliznytsia said in a statement.

The pact facilitated the coordination of the countries to organize transit and develop regulations to regulate the transport of passengers and cargo. It also favored the exchange of information between the Russian and Ukrainian systems, according to the Ukrinform news agency.

However, Ukrzaliznytsia had ended all cooperation with Russia and Belarus shortly after the war began in late February. Also, Ukrainian troops destroyed several railway lines shortly after the start of the invasion.

For Kiev, the institutions in charge of creating and supervising the agreement are located in "aggressor" territory.