Recent Strikes on Ukraine's Railway Infrastructure: New Challenges
Since mid-summer, Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraine's railway facilities, launching attacks with six to seven drones almost every night. This was reported by the chairman of the board of JSC 'Ukrzaliznytsia', Oleksandr Pertzovsky, in an interview with Reuters.
'Their primary goal is to instill panic among passengers, while their secondary aim is to strike at the economy as a whole,' Pertzovsky stated.
According to him, the attacks are not specifically targeting military cargo. 'Essentially, these are strikes on civilian infrastructure,' he added.
Pertzovsky noted that the attacks, which have hit dozens of substations, are linked to a sharp increase in the number of long-range drones produced by the Russian military-industrial complex.
'Previously, they simply did not have enough resources for a combat drone, like the 'Shahed', to target a locomotive. Now they can afford to use 'Shaheds' for strikes on individual locomotives rather than strategic targets,' he said.
The head of Ukrzaliznytsia mentioned that since mid-summer, Russia has attacked electrical substations and other railway infrastructure, using an average of six to seven 'Shaheds' almost every night.
'They act systematically, knocking out one substation after another or targeting key railway hubs to halt passenger train operations,' Pertzovsky said. Recent examples include attacks on the Lozova, Synelnykove, and Kozyatin stations.
However, despite the systematic attacks, the Ukrainian railway is currently managing the load, and the transit of military cargo has not been affected.
'It's a marathon... They (the Russians) hit us, we recover. They hit us, we recover,' he described the situation.
According to estimates from the World Bank, approximately 30% of the Ukrainian railway is in a state of 'damage-recovery.'
In a previous comment to the agency, Pertzovsky stated that the Russians are trying to destroy key junction stations. Specifically, on September 17, the railway infrastructure was attacked by the Russian army, resulting in delays for several trains.
