Russia ‘trying to kill train drivers’ as Putin’s forces ramp up Ukraine railway attacks | World | News
Russia is targeting train drivers as part of an increasingly intense campaign on Ukraine’s railway system, according to one of Kiev’s senior ministers. Ukraine’s rail network, which spans nearly 13,000 miles, has become an important symbol of wartime resilience despite repeated attacks throughout the conflict.
Oleksii Kuleba, one of Ukraine’s deputy prime ministers responsible for infrastructure, said attacks on the network since the beginning of this year have caused damage worth £760 million. He said there were 800 attacks and more than 3,000 railway facilities were damaged during this period. In a worrying sign of the intentions of Vladimir Putin’s forces, he added that attacks had “tripled” in the past three months and that Russian attacks had become more targeted.
To talk Guard“What we are seeing in these increasing attacks is that they are going after trains, especially trying to kill drivers.”
Ukraine’s railway system is an important part of the country’s war effort, both in terms of military logistics and transportation of goods and people.
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chief of Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia, also told The Guardian that Russia’s “highly sensitive” Iranian-designed Shahed drones were being used to target “individual locomotives”.
Russia has repeatedly attacked key infrastructure during the war as part of its efforts to disrupt military supply routes but mainly demoralize Ukraine.
As many in Ukraine prepare for a harsh winter, Moscow has increasingly targeted power utilities across the country in recent weeks.
Ukraine also stepped up attacks on Russian infrastructure and hit oil refineries.
This increase had a devastating effect; It caused fuel shortages and skyrocketing prices in some areas.
A Ukrainian deputy minister said last month: BBC Half of Russia’s attacks on railways during the war took place in the last two months.
Ukraine has taken steps to better protect the network, including equipping trains with anti-drone electronic systems.
