Russia strikes Ukrainian railways over 1,600 times in 2026, targeting locomotives

September 17, 2026 at 09:15 PM2 min

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Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's railway network, with more than 1,600 strikes on rolling stock and infrastructure of national carrier Ukrzaliznytsia in the first eight months of 2026. A drone hit a passenger train locomotive at Yahodyn station on September 13, two kilometers from the Polish border, but passengers including former CIA director David Petraeus were evacuated 15 minutes before the blast. Ukraine's foreign minister says over 500 locomotives have been damaged or destroyed since the full-scale invasion, more than half this year.

Key Facts

More than 1,600 attacks on Ukrzaliznytsia rolling stock and infrastructure were recorded in the first eight months of 2026.
On September 13, a Russian drone struck a passenger train locomotive at Yahodyn station, two kilometers from the Polish border.
Passengers, including former CIA director David Petraeus, were evacuated 15 minutes before the explosion, and no one was injured.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 500 locomotives since the full-scale invasion, over half of them in 2026.
A diplomatic train carrying security advisers from several EU countries and former European leaders, including Boris Johnson, had been at Yahodyn station shortly before the attack.

Attack on Yahodyn Station

On the morning of September 13, a Russian jet drone struck the locomotive of a passenger train at Yahodyn station in Volyn Oblast, two kilometers from the Polish border. A monitoring center dispatcher detected the drone, and passengers were evacuated 15 minutes before the explosion. Among the passengers was former CIA director David Petraeus; no one was injured. Shortly before the blast, a diplomatic train carrying security advisers from several EU countries and former European leaders, including ex-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had been at the same station. Ukrzaliznytsia considers it likely that the diplomatic train was the intended target but avoided danger because it departed earlier than scheduled due to an operational timetable revision.

Scale of Damage

Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 500 locomotives in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, with more than half of them in 2026, according to Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Sybiha called the attacks 'Putin's terror' aimed at destabilizing Ukrainian logistics and urged international partners to tighten sanctions on Moscow. He also called for urgent help in finding locomotives compatible with the 1520-millimeter track gauge and financing their accelerated purchase. Transport expert Vasyl Shevchenko said locomotives are an ideal target because their thermal signature is large and hard to miss. A hit with 50 kilograms of explosives can detonate several tons of fuel in a diesel locomotive, completely destroying the machine, while a hit on an electric locomotive creates a huge electric arc that burns the locomotive and blocks an entire section of track.