Ukrainian Railways has suffered about 5,000 enemy attacks since Feb 2022 – head
Russia is intensifying attacks on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure: since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, there have been about 5,000 attacks, with more than 10% of them occurring in just the first few months of this year, Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) Board Chairman Oleksandr Pertsovsky said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
"If you plot the curve of these attacks, their number is increasing, especially in the spring, when the focus shifts from energy infrastructure and the enemy targets transport infrastructure," Pertsovsky said.
According to him, shelling has damaged a significant number of locomotives, passenger cars, and stations.
Ukrzaliznytsia said that 15 regional monitoring teams are currently operating 24/7, connected to all available monitoring systems and radar, and cooperating with relevant teams that have real-time information on the situation.
"This is the result of real monitoring, very often real-time coordination with our military and air defense forces, confirming what type of object is in the sky and whether it poses a real threat, and then making decisions on whether to stop trains or evacuate," Pertsovsky added.
The company said that more than 4,000 train crew members have already undergone special evacuation training, and such training will continue.
"Unfortunately, no one in the world has been trained on how to act when a Shahed drone is flying overhead, but reality forces us to adapt, and our colleagues constantly undergo training and practice to ensure evacuation experience is safe," he said.
Explaining the need for evacuations during attacks, he emphasized that in the event of a strike, a railcar can become a trap, as metal quickly deforms, fires break out, and chemicals are released.
The company advised that after receiving a signal from a conductor about heightened danger, passengers should prepare for evacuation, leaving bulky items and suitcases behind but taking documents and phones.
In the event of evacuation, Ukrzaliznytsia recommends that passengers avoid crowding near the train, disperse while keeping the conductor in a high-visibility vest in sight, and follow safety instructions in case of explosions nearby.
Passengers should then wait for a signal by voice, megaphone, or whistle that the danger has passed.
Pertsovsky also said Ukrzaliznytsia is open to proposals to jointly develop insurance products with insurers to cover possible delays.
"We are generally open and will work this out with the market. The only issue is that any insurance case usually includes exclusions for force majeure, so the question is whether the insurance market is ready to take on these risks," he said.
As for ticket prices, they will remain reasonable and affordable for passengers until the end of martial law, the Ukrzaliznytsia Board Chairman assured.
As reported, on March 24 at around 05:20, a direct hit was recorded on an electric train running the Slatyne–Kharkiv route, resulting in fatalities and injuries.
Earlier in 2026, the Barvinkove–Lviv–Chop passenger train was attacked by three Shahed-type drones in Kharkiv region near the village of Yazykove, killing six people and injuring two.
