"What we have seen in these escalating attacks is that they are going after trains, especially trying to kill the drivers. In a country as large as Ukraine, the railways are critical. The rail network carries more than 63% of the country's freight including grain shipments and 37% of passenger traffic, according to the state statistics service. Military assistance from foreign countries often arrives by train. No civilian airports have been in operation since Russia's full-scale invasion, so most people travel in and out of the country including visiting world leaders by train."
"It's not just about the quantity [of attacks], it's also the approach of the enemy forces, said Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, the head of the Ukrainian state railway, Ukrzaliznytsia. Now, as they have very precise Shahed drones, they are targeting individual locomotives. Efforts to better protect the network have come into force, including equipping trains with electronic systems to counter drone strikes and raising dedicated air defence teams from among railway staff."
Attacks on Ukraine's railway system have tripled since July, inflicting roughly $1bn in damage since the start of 2025. There have been around 800 attacks this year and more than 3,000 railway objects damaged. Assaults increasingly target trains and drivers, with precise Shahed drones used to hit individual locomotives. The rail network carries over 63% of the country's freight, including grain, and 37% of passenger traffic, while most foreign military aid and civilian travel depend on rail due to closed airports. Countermeasures include electronic anti-drone systems and dedicated air-defence teams from railway staff, though infrastructure remains vulnerable.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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