Off the rails Ukrainian drones are increasingly targeting Russia’s rail network, delaying hundreds of trains
A new pattern of Ukrainian drone strikes appears aimed at disrupting Russia’s rail network. In recent weeks, drones have hit stations, power systems, and trains, causing unprecedented delays. Since July 19, at least seven attacks have delayed more than 220 trains and injured railway workers and passengers. Here’s what we know so far about this series of attacks.
Ukraine has been stepping up its attacks on Russia’s rail network — and the disruptions are mounting. In the past two weeks alone, more than 220 trains have been delayed.
In the early hours of August 4, rail traffic in the Volgograd region was brought to a halt after an attack. Governor Andrey Bocharov said a drone had crashed onto the tracks at the train station in Frolovo but didn’t explode. Sappers were sent in to secure the site.
According to Privolzhskaya Railway, a branch of Russian Railways, debris from the drone fell on the station around 2:50 a.m. local time. The incident delayed five long-distance passenger trains — including services from Moscow and St. Petersburg — as well as four commuter trains. Russian Railways said the delays lasted more than five hours. Service was restored at about 11:30 a.m., more than eight hours after the attack.
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The governor said the strike ignited a fire in a technical building at the station but left the tracks and other infrastructure intact. The Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ said the drones had targeted the dispatch office and posted a photo of a damaged building. Open-source evidence suggests the picture was taken near the station, though it is unclear if it shows the dispatch office itself.
The attack was part of a broader campaign. Since July 19, Ukrainian drones have struck Russian railway facilities at least seven times (including the August 4 attack):
- July 19, Rostov region — Debris from downed drones damaged the power supply on the Likhaya–Zamchalovo line. A station duty officer at the station in Likhaya was injured and hospitalized. Train service stopped, and 132 passenger trains were delayed anywhere from 33 minutes to 15 hours.
- July 21, Rostov region — A drone strike set fire to a building at the station in the settlement of Kamenolomni, delaying more than 50 passenger trains.
- July 25, Rostov region — Drone debris hit the station in Peschanokopskoye, damaging the power supply and a station building. Ten passenger trains were delayed for up to five hours.
- July 25, Krasnodar Krai — Drone debris struck a passenger train at the station in Timashevsk. Two people were injured, one seriously enough to require hospitalization. Windows in the carriage were blown out. Twelve trains were delayed.
- July 27, Volgograd region — Drone debris hit a railway substation in the settlement of Oktyabrsky, delaying two passenger trains and canceling one commuter service.
- July 29, Rostov region — The station in Salsk was struck, blowing out windows in a passenger train. No one was injured in the initial attack, but a freight train caught fire. Two sappers were killed while clearing explosives. Eleven trains were delayed.
Before this recent wave, such attacks were much less frequent. In early July, there was only one incident: on July 7, trains were delayed following an attack in the Voronezh region.
In addition, in late May and early June there were at least five explosions on railway lines. The most serious occurred on the evening of May 31 in the Bryansk region, when a passenger train collided with a road bridge that had collapsed after an explosion, causing the train to derail. (Some reports said the bridge gave way while a train was passing underneath.) Seven people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
