KIEV, April 16. /ITAR-TASS/. A new element may have appeared in the standoff between the population of Ukraine’s eastern regions and the forces loyal to the central government, as unknown people blocked a crucial railway between the city of Kramatorsk and the town of Druzhkovka on Wednesday, the Donetsk Railway Department press service says.

“In the wake of an unauthorized blocking of the railway between the stations of Kramatorsk and Druzhkovka by unidentified individuals, changes have been made in the routes of long-distance and commuter trains, which are diverted to a different line until the unauthorized blocking is lifted,” the press service said.

A total of twenty-six long-distance passenger trains and twenty-eight commuter trains traverse the line between Kramatorsk and Druzhkovka daily.

The line provides a railway link between the heavily industrialized and densely populated southeast of the Donetsk region and the city of Kharkov. It also links the area to Lozovaya, one of the biggest railway junctions in Southeast Ukraine.