Finland to supply Ukraine blackout-proof locomotives
Photo: Signing of the agreement on the donation of 10 Finnish locomotives to Ukrzaliznytsia (t.me/Mykola_Kalashnyk)
Finland will transfer 10 locomotives and related components to Ukrainian Railways free of charge. The agreement was signed on October 22 during the Ukrainian-Finnish Business Forum, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, Ukraine's Minister of Recovery, Infrastructure, and Transport.
The document was signed during the forum's plenary session. Participants included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, and representatives of Finnish businesses.
Why it matters
Russia is deliberately targeting Ukraine's locomotive fleet. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, nearly 600 Ukrainian Railways locomotives have been damaged or destroyed, including more than 300 diesel locomotives. Repairs are costly and time-consuming, and some of the equipment can no longer be restored.
Finnish locomotives can operate without power from the overhead contact line. Given the attacks on the power grid and power outages, this allows train service to continue uninterrupted. The following rely on this traction:
- Passenger transport and evacuation
- Delivery of humanitarian aid
- Business operations and exports.
International coalition
Ukraine is forming an international coalition to replenish its locomotive fleet. Efforts began at the Carpathian Eight summit, where a number of partners agreed to transfer used locomotives to Ukraine. Now, according to Kalashnyk, these agreements must be turned into actual equipment as quickly as possible.
Attacks on the railway continue unabated. On the evening of the same day, October 22, Russian drones attacked a railway infrastructure facility in Poltava. Earlier, on the night of October 14, Russia struck western Ukraine, where railway facilities were also targeted.
At the same time, Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine's energy sector. In just one week of the so-called energy ceasefire, Russians struck Ukrainian energy facilities 76 times.
