Ukrainian rail passengers endure frequent evacuations amid rising drone attacks

Ukrainian rail passengers are facing routine evacuations and hours-long delays as Russian drone attacks on passenger trains intensify, marking a sharp escalation in the war against civilian infrastructure.

State operator Ukrzaliznytsia reported that 5,831 trains were evacuated in September alone, averaging 205 daily stoppages. The attacks began targeting moving passenger trains towards the end of 2025, but the frequency has surged this year. Officials say nearly 60% of all locomotives damaged since the 2022 invasion were hit in the current period. Overall strikes on railway facilities climbed from 1,206 in 2025 to 1,700 so far in 2026.

Travelers now follow a familiar emergency routine. When air raid warnings sound, passengers disembark and wait on trackside until crews confirm the area is clear. Seventeen-year-old Anastasiia Ryvbalchenko was forced off her train at 4am on 16 September during a trip from Odesa to Kirovohrad. A drone exploded nearby an hour and a half later. "I'm not going to travel by train anymore," she said after the incident.

Russia's defence ministry denies targeting civilians, stating strikes aim at military logistics. Moscow's drones have grown more sophisticated, using artificial intelligence and image recognition to track moving targets. Railway officials say Ukraine counters these threats with electronic jamming and real-time monitoring from an underground Kyiv bunker known as the Iron Command Centre. Operators track drones within a 100km (62-mile) radius and automatically evacuate any passenger trains caught in the zone.