UKRAINE: Russian strikes have damaged 492 locomotives and 249 wagons since February 2022, according to Minister for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport Mykola Kalashnyk. The government’s 2026–2027 programme sets a target of returning 70% of the damaged locomotives to service.
He published the figures on his Telegram channel on 23 August after a drone hit a Lozova–Kharkiv electric train at Lymanivka station, killing one passenger and wounding four. The train had been stopped and evacuated on a drone warning before the strike. A second drone hit during the rescue work caused no further injuries.
The railway has been attacked 1,534 times since 1 January, the minister said. Fifty-two employees of national operator Ukrzaliznytsia have been killed on duty and 317 wounded, he said.
What the programme covers
The programme also lists reform of the railway sector, extension of standard gauge towards the EU border and a new financing model for state-ordered and socially important passenger services.
The operator has 55 electric freight locomotives on order from Alstom under a EUR 475m contract signed in November 2025.
Rolling stock hit through August
On 13 August a drone struck the locomotive of the Odesa–Dnipro passenger train in Odesa region, killing the driver and the assistant driver. The 340 passengers were evacuated.
The operator’s weekly count recorded 11 locomotives damaged in five days at the start of the month. On the day of the Kharkiv strike it logged five attacks on railway infrastructure.