Russia Intensifies Rail Attacks on Ukraine, Targeting Trains and Drivers

London, UK – November 16, 2025

In a stark and worrying escalation of the war, Russia is applying an iron grip strategy on Ukraine’s vital railway system, with reports confirming Moscow is now increasingly targeting trains themselves, not just the infrastructure.

This new, more aggressive phase of the campaign against the rail network has seen strikes intensify threefold since July, as the Kremlin seeks to systematically cripple Kyiv’s critical logistics, both military and civilian, ahead of the bitter winter months.

Ukrainian officials have sounded the alarm, noting that the new objective includes strikes aimed at destroying individual locomotives and, shockingly, attempting to kill the drivers operating the trains.

The Ukrainian government has released staggering figures that underscore the severity of this sustained aerial campaign.

Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba stated that since the start of 2025, there have been over 800 attacks on railway infrastructure, resulting in damage to more than 3,000 railway objects, with a financial cost estimated at $1 billion (£760 million).

However, the most concerning trend is the shift in focus. Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, the head of the Ukrainian state railway, Ukrzaliznytsia, confirmed that forces are now using precision weaponry, particularly modified Shahed drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras, to target individual locomotives and moving rolling stock in real-time.

Three Strategic Objectives of the Escalation

According to Ukrainian officials, the intensified campaign has three primary, strategic objectives, all aimed at paralysing the nation’s ability to move goods and sustain its front lines:

Disrupting Southern Logistics:

Russia aims to destroy the logistics capacity in southern Ukraine to prevent the crucial movement of essential goods, such as Ukrainian grain, to major seaports like Odesa. Attacking these lines creates economic and humanitarian pressure.

Cutting Off Frontlines:

Striking rail traffic near the frontlines, particularly in regions like Chernihiv and Sumy, seeks to sever the essential supply lines for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which rely heavily on rail to transport Western-supplied weapons, ammunition, and personnel from the western border areas.

Total Destruction in the East:

The campaign also focuses on “destroying everything” in the Donbas region, Ukraine’s industrial heartland, which includes the heavily contested Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. This is aimed at permanently crippling any industrial and logistical base that could support a prolonged war effort.

The use of high-precision drones to pursue moving targets, such as trains carrying military cargo in the Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, represents a significant tactical evolution by Russian forces.

While damage to railway tracks can often be repaired by the dedicated crews of Ukrzaliznytsia—sometimes within a single day—damage to expensive and vital rolling stock, such as locomotives and cargo wagons, presents a far greater and longer-term logistical challenge.

The Human and Economic Cost

The relentless attacks have elevated the level of risk for both the personnel operating the trains and ordinary Ukrainian citizens. Attacks on major junctions, such as the targeting of the main station building in Lozova, Kharkiv region, highlight the danger to civilians and staff at railway hubs.

The station in Lozova is a critical junction, connecting major cities including Dnipro, Slovyansk, Poltava, and Kharkiv, making it an essential hub for both military and civilian movement.

Despite the perils, rail remains the absolute backbone of Ukraine’s economy and wartime logistics. An estimated 60-65% of the country’s economic output, including essential exports like metals and grain, is moved via the rail network.

Furthermore, the railways are critical for humanitarian aid delivery and the transport of high-profile Western politicians visiting Kyiv, making their security a symbol of national resilience.

The suspension of all train service in and out of frontline stronghold cities like Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, announced earlier this month due to security concerns, signals the success of Russia’s pressure campaign in restricting civilian access to safe routes and isolating communities.

The memory of the 2022 missile strike on the Kramatorsk station, which killed 61 people awaiting evacuation, serves as a grim precedent for the human cost of these attacks.

Despite the increasing strikes, the railway company continues its Herculean effort to maintain service, viewing the operation of the trains as an act of national defiance and a critical lifeline that must be protected at all costs.

Headline Points

 * Threefold Increase: Attacks on Ukraine’s railway system have increased threefold since July, amounting to over 800 strikes and $1 billion in damage since the beginning of 2025.

 * Targeting Trains & Drivers: The operational focus has shifted from solely infrastructure to targeting individual locomotives and attempting to kill train drivers using high-precision Shahed drones.

 * Logistical Paralysis: The strikes aim to destroy logistics in the south to stop grain exports, cut off military supply lines near the front, and completely destroy infrastructure in the eastern Donbas region.

 * Critical Backbone: The rail network remains the essential backbone for over 60% of Ukraine’s economic output, as well as vital military and humanitarian supply routes.

 * Frontline Suspensions: Security concerns forced the suspension of all train service in and out of critical frontline cities like Kramatorsk.