Five Ukrainian train stations hit on Monday, one railway worker killed

Published on 25-04-2022 at 10:33

Image: Flickr/Timon91

Five railway stations in Ukraine came under fire earlier on Monday, Ukrainian Railways chief Oleksandr Kamyshin said on Twitter. It was confirmed by the Russian armed forces that traction substations in the areas of five railway stations were attacked. One railway employee was killed and four were injured after the shelling of the five railway stations, Kamyshin said.

The train stations, located in the western and central parts of the countries, came under attack within the space of an hour. Kamyshin said his teams were still gathering information about the victims. The attacks have disrupted railway traffic, he added.

“They are trying to destroy the supply routes of military-technical assistance from partner states”, the Ukrainian armed forces command wrote in a post on Facebook, according to Reuters. “To do this, they focus strikes on railway junctions”.

5 railway stations shelled during one hour today in the morning. 16+ passenger trains delayed. Casualties reported, details later. #russians keep destroying #ukrainian railway infrastructure.

— Alexander Kamyshin (@AKamyshin) April 25, 2022

Reconstruction underway

The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the attacks in a briefing, saying long-range high-precision weapons destroyed six traction substations in the areas of the railway stations Krasnoye, Zdolbunov, Zhmerinka, Berdychiv, Kovel and Korosten. Through these railway sections, foreign weapons and military equipment are supplied to the Ukrainian group of troops in Donbas, says the Russian military.

Ukrainian Railways said on Monday that reconstruction of the railway infrastructure is underway. No train journeys were “frozen”, and evacuation and transport of the wounded are carried out according to schedule, said the company. However, due to active work at two sites, trains running through Zdolbuniv and Zhmerinka may be delayed for some time.

Railways targeted before

Earlier this month, a Russian rocket strike on Kramatorsk train station left at least 50 people dead and dozens more wounded. The station came under attack when thousands of civilians were queuing for evacuation.

Trains have been in the limelight since the start of the Russian invasion almost two months ago, carrying hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees to safety. Meanwhile, relief goods are travelling in the opposite direction via rail.

Such is the importance of rail that acts of sabotage have been prevalent, even before the start of the war. In January, cyber-activists hacked Belarusian Railways and destroyed the databases that the company uses control traffic. In recent weeks, there have been reports of so-called Belarusian railway partisans setting fire to to relay cabinets in an effort to hinder the movement of Russian equipment and goods.

This article was updated on 26-04 at 11:30 CET

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