Russia is increasingly targeting Ukrainian passenger trains with jet-powered drones, threatening a rail network crucial to the country’s economy, military logistics and movement of people.
Moscow’s strikes have damaged or destroyed more than 500 locomotives since the full-scale invasion began in 2022; more than 60% of them have been hit in the past eight months. Ukrainian Railways is now losing 37 to 40 locomotives a month.
Russia’s defense ministry has acknowledged it is striking trains, describing the attacks as part of a strategy to destroy Ukrainian logistics used to transport foreign weapons for Kyiv’s war effort.
Ukrainian officials say the campaign has a broader purpose. “Russians aim to isolate our frontline communities, sow panic and fear among the already exhausted locals, paralyze the economy,” Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chairman of the management board at JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s state railway operator, said.
