Ukraine's Railways Under Siege: Russian Drone Attacks Disrupt Passenger Trains

Yuliia Ponomarenko, a 27-year-old marketing specialist from Kharkiv, was on her way to Warsaw last month when her journey was cut short just shy of the Ukraine-Poland border. As she approached the frontier, border guards suddenly sprang into action, shouting for her to flee from her vehicle as gunfire echoed in the distance.

Yuliia recounts her harrowing commute, where a six-hour delay ensued after a fire on the train ahead forced the line to be cleared. The prolonged wait was a blessing in disguise, as the passengers were spared the inconvenience of missing their train.

Over the past month, Ukrzaliznytsia has reported a staggering surge in train evacuations, with a total of 5,831 incidents attributed to Russian drone attacks. This translates to an average of 205 trains halted daily, highlighting the significant impact on Ukraine's rail network.

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noting that the latest wave of escalation and real war with railways is becoming extremely intense, said Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia. noting that it's a combination of the deadly force of their shahed drones and precision that they achieve with cameras and mesh networks so they can hit moving targets.

Ukrzaliznytsia is preparing for winter evacuations, with winter evacuation packs, mobile shelters, and bus services in areas where evacuations become too frequent.

We might be a slightly different railway, a reinvented railway, Pertsovskyi said. noting that but we'll keep connecting the country. No matter what, be it winter, be it summer, no matter how hard the enemy hits us.

As Russian drones began targeting passenger trains in late 2025, a new normal emerged for commuters: disembarking to check Telegram channels for updates on aerial attacks, then sending frantic messages to loved ones to warn them of impending delays.

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noting that we used to say that that during times of war we performed better than some railways in Europe in regular times, Pertsovskyi said. noting that but now the life of our passengers and crew members is the utmost priority.

Overall attacks on railway facilities have risen from 1,206 in 2025 to 1,700 so far this year.

Unfortunately, this is always a cat-and-mouse game, Pertsovskyi said.