Ukraine is seeking replacement engines as Russia intensifies attacks on its railway network. Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 500 Ukrainian locomotives since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Tuesday. He said more than half of the damage had occurred this year, adding: “Ukraine’s railway keeps the country moving. It enables the rapid evacuation of civilians from frontline areas, transports essential cargo, and keeps grain and other critical goods moving across the country.” Sybiha called on Ukraine’s partners to help source locomotives compatible with Ukraine’s 1,520 mm broad-gauge rail network and provide financial support to purchase new units. “Supporting Ukraine’s railway resilience will help avert a humanitarian crisis and strengthen our resilience under the challenging conditions of full-scale war,” he added. Border strikes Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, two Russian Geran-5 drone strikes were recorded close to the Polish border. One strike damaged the locomotive of a Kyiv–Warsaw train at Yahodyn station, about two kilometers from the Polish border. A second drone struck a gas station near the Dorohusk–Yahodyn border crossing. No one was injured in the attack. Ukrainian railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said the strike was not an isolated incident but part of a “systemic Russian operation against the railway network.” Polish response At an urgent briefing on Sunday evening, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Russia’s escalation was becoming a reality, with incidents occurring increasingly close to Poland’s border. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said attacks on transport and energy infrastructure in western Ukraine were being carried out deliberately.
Russia is attacking the railways, roads, ports and border crossings that connect Ukraine with Europe. (x.com/Andrii Sybiha, PAP)
