Russian drones target locomotives and electrical substations — Ukrzaliznytsia head
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, Chairman of the Board of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC, said this in an interview with Reuters, as cited by Ukrinform.
“Their (Russians’ – ed.) first aim is to sow panic among passengers, their second aim is to hit the overall economy," Pertsovskyi said.
According to him, there did not appear to be a particular focus on targeting military cargo. "These are all, in essence, strikes on civilian infrastructure," he said.
Pertsovskyi said the attacks, which have hit dozens of substations, were linked to the dramatic increase in long-range drones that Russia's military-industrial complex is producing.
"Previously, they simply did not have sufficient resources for a single combat drone, such as a Shahed, to hunt down a locomotive. Now they can afford to use Shaheds to hit individual locomotives rather than strategic targets,” he said.
Since the middle of summer, Russia has attacked railway electricity substations and other infrastructure nodes with an average of six to seven long-range Shahed kamikaze drones most nights, according to Pertsovskyi.
"They are ... acting systematically, knocking out one substation after another or key rail hubs in order to stop passenger trains and sow panic and distrust among the people,” he said. Recent examples include attacks on the railway stations in Lozova, Synelnykove, and Koziatyn.
Pertsovskyi said disruption had been minimised and the transit of military cargoes had not been impacted.
"It's a marathon ... They strike us, we recover," he said. "They strike us, we recover."
The World Bank estimates that roughly 30% of Ukraine's railway is in a "damage-repair" cycle.
As reported by Ukrinform, in a previous comment to the agency, Pertsovskyi stated that Russian forces are attempting to destroy key railway junctions.
Specifically, on September 17, the railway infrastructure came under attack by the Russian military, causing delays to several trains.
Photo credit: Ukrzaliznytsia
