Russia has pounded Ukraine's rail infrastructure 300 times since August, official says
Russian forces have carried out nearly 300 attacks on Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) infrastructure since the beginning of August, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction Oleksii Kuleba said on Oct. 12.
Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's railway infrastructure as autumn sets in, resulting in increasing train delays and cancellations.
"Every day, the railway manages to restore infrastructure within an average of four hours after an attack — and resumes operations the very same day," Kuleba said.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 221 railway workers have been injured and 37 others killed in the line of duty, the officials said.
There have also been several instances where Russia targeted passenger trains, resulting in civilian casualties. A Russian double-tap drone strike on a railway station in Sumy Oblast on Oct. 4 killed one person and injured at least 30 others, including three children.
Dmytro Zhmailo, a military expert and executive director of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, suggested the uptick in attacks on Ukraine's railway system could be linked to recent arms supply agreements with Western partners.
The surge in Russian attacks coincides with the approval of the first arms deliveries under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a mechanism that enables other NATO members to finance U.S. shipments of weapons to Ukraine.
