Russia’s Drone Attacks Disrupt Ukraine’s Rail Network

Russian Drone Attacks on Ukrainian Passenger Trains

Russian drones have intensified attacks on Ukrainian passenger trains, with more than half of all locomotive strikes since the 2022 invasion occurring this year, the state-owned operator Ukrzaliznytsia reported. The operator said 5,831 trains were evacuated in September alone, averaging 205 per day.

Passengers have faced long delays and evacuations. Yuliia Ponomarenko, a 27-year-old marketing specialist from Kharkiv, was forced to wait six hours after a drone struck a locomotive near the Ukraine-Poland border. A special train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had passed minutes earlier. Seventeen-year-old Anastasiia Ryvbalchenko was evacuated from a train at 4 a.m. on 16 September; a drone struck nearby, prompting her to abandon the train and walk to safety.

Ukrzaliznytsia’s CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said the company’s safety protocols have kept casualties low, with eight employees killed in 2026, six of them when a ballistic missile struck a locomotive depot in Kyiv. The operator is preparing winter evacuation packs, mobile shelters and bus services to cope with frequent evacuations as temperatures drop.

Russia’s defence ministry denies targeting civilians, claiming its attacks on railways aim to disrupt military transport. Pertsovskyi noted that some of Russia’s recent drones are equipped with AI tools and image recognition, and Ukraine is exploring electronic methods to disrupt drone connectivity.

The escalation of drone attacks may strain Ukraine’s ability to maintain essential rail services during winter, as the operator prepares evacuation packs and mobile shelters.