The head of Ukraine’s railways announced on Saturday that Russia is ramping up its airstrike campaign targeting the railway system in an effort to cut off support to frontline communities as winter approaches.
Oleksandr Pertsovsky, the CEO of Ukrainian Railways, cautioned that Russian drone strikes are becoming increasingly accurate, making it more difficult for Kyiv to defend against these assaults.
On Saturday, Russian forces targeted two passenger trains in the northeastern Sumy region of Ukraine, resulting in one fatality and injuring numerous others, according to reports from Ukrainian officials.
“We can clearly observe a surge in enemy attacks on railway infrastructure,” Pertsovsky remarked during a press briefing, which included AFP representatives.
“There is absolutely no military justification for these actions,” he continued. “The sole aim is to instill fear among the populace… creating the impression that communications will be severed, leaving people isolated.”
While speaking via video link from a train bound for Shostka, which had been impacted, Pertsovsky noted that there have been “40 significant attacks” on railway facilities since August, occurring nearly every other day.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to the attack, which took place approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Russian border, as “brutal.” He shared a video depicting a damaged train car engulfed in flames, surrounded by twisted metal and shattered windows.
“This brutal Russian drone strike on the railway station in Shostka, Sumy region, has prompted all emergency services to respond and assist those affected. We are still gathering information regarding the injured; as of now, at least 30 people have been reported as victims,” he said in a tweet.
Zelensky emphasized, “The Russians surely knew they were attacking civilians.”
Since Russia commenced its invasion in February 2022, its military has consistently targeted Ukraine’s railway system, with Pertsovsky stating that there hasn’t been a single week without such incidents occurring.
In April 2022, over 60 individuals waiting to evacuate from the frontline city of Kramatorsk lost their lives when a Russian missile struck the busy station there.
Pertsovsky expressed grave concerns about the increasing accuracy of Russian weaponry, warning that without efficient air defenses, “it’s unfortunately easy to envision a similar offensive resulting in far more devastating consequences.”
“They possess highly precise Shahed drones [designed in Iran] that are capable of targeting specific locomotives; they can also effectively hit energy infrastructure, rendering many protective measures currently ineffective,” he added.
With the winter cold setting in, Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities. Earlier this week, Moscow executed its largest strike to date on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, while Saturday’s attacks left around 50,000 households in the northern Chernigiv region without power.
On the same day, Ukraine’s military claimed to have struck a significant oil refinery located in Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region.
Kyiv has pledged to enhance its own long-range drone strikes on Russian energy installations, asserting that these measures are a rightful response to Russia’s ongoing assaults on its cities and power grid.
