Russia is hunting Ukrainian passenger trains, Politico reports
Photo: Train hit by Russian shelling (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
Russia is stepping up attacks on Ukrainian passenger trains using jet-powered drones. More than 500 locomotives have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the full-scale war, with most of the losses occurring in recent months, according to Politico.
Attacks on moving trains
According to Politico, Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 500 locomotives since the start of the full-scale invasion.
More than 60% of these losses occurred over the past eight months. Ukrzaliznytsia is currently losing between 37 and 40 locomotives every month.
Russia describes strikes on railway infrastructure as part of its strategy against Ukrainian logistics, including infrastructure used to deliver foreign weapons. Ukrzaliznytsia believes the consequences of the attacks extend far beyond military logistics.
"Russians aim to isolate our frontline communities, sow panic and fear among the already exhausted locals, paralyze the economy," said Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia.
According to him, in autumn 2025, Russian forces began deliberately targeting passenger trains after obtaining antennas for mesh networks.
The technology allows drones to maintain communication with one another and with ground transmitters, including those located in Belarus or the occupied areas of Ukraine.
"Last fall they hit a train next to Lozova, a town in Kharkiv region, killing six. Since then, we launched evacuation protocols. We’re saving most of the people, but Russians keep destroying our locomotives," he said.
Attacks are reaching beyond the frontline
Most of the attacks occur in areas within 200 kilometers of the line of contact. However, Russian forces have recently expanded the geographic range of these drone strikes.
"Now Russians are using antennas and repeaters in Belarus to strike Ukraine’s western regions too," Pertsovskyi said.
Politico also highlighted a recent attack near the Polish border. A Russian drone struck a train shortly after another train had departed carrying European security advisers and former leaders, including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Ukrzaliznytsia suggested that this train itself may have been the intended target because it had departed earlier than scheduled.
"The latest strikes near the Polish border show that their additional goal is to increase risks for our foreign guests, partners, diplomats, politicians and reporters ... Russians want them also to be scared to travel to Ukraine, because the fact that after all the attempts to isolate Ukraine we are still open and interesting for the world pisses Russians off."
Yuliia Chykolba, director of the Center for Information Resilience in Ukraine, who was traveling from Kyiv to the Polish city of Chelm on the day of the attack, said that passengers were evacuated twice.
"We were seven hours late. We had to evacuate twice because of that drone near the border," Chykolba said.
According to her, railway workers organized the evacuation and ordered passengers to leave the train and move away from it.
"And then we saw the drone approaching. The same one that later struck a train closer to the border. It was still scary," Chykolba said.
Locomotives are difficult to replace
The attacks pose not only a threat to passengers but also a serious challenge in restoring rolling stock. A new locomotive costs around 5 million euros.
"Locomotive repair is a key priority: spare parts, materials, and the personnel to carry out repairs around the clock. We have reliable partners helping us with this, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank, but the pace of destruction is so fast that our financial resources are insufficient," Pertsovskyi said.
At the same time, quickly replacing damaged equipment solely through foreign assistance is difficult. Ukrainian railways use a track gauge of 1,520 mm, while the standard in most of Europe is 1,435 mm. As a result, the choice of suitable rolling stock that can be supplied to Ukraine is limited.
The same track gauge is used in the Baltic countries and Finland. Lithuania has already pledged to provide Ukraine with locomotives as part of a winter aid package.
Despite the losses, Ukrzaliznytsia continues to plan its operations under different scenarios.
"We have various operational plans to balance safety, but we are certainly not considering a scenario where we stop. Just as our country does not contemplate giving up the fight, the railway, naturally, does not contemplate halting its operations," Pertsovskyi said.
Earlier, Ukraine updated the rules governing railway and station operations during air raid alerts: train movements and passenger boarding must now be determined based on the level of threat.
