RUSSIAN strikes on Ukraine’s railway network have intensified sharply in 2026, with damage to locomotives in the first six months of the year approaching the total recorded during the previous four years of the war, Ukrainian Railways (UZ) has told local news outlet Delo.
UZ says that 192 locomotives have been damaged since the beginning of 2026, compared with 217 locomotives lost between 2022 and 2025. UZ uses a damage accounting methodology aggregating different levels of damage into a common measure.
The railway believes the hike in the number of attacks on locomotives is a part of a campaign aimed at disrupting the rail network.
“These figures demonstrate the systematic and targeted nature of hostile actions aimed at disabling the locomotive fleet in order to reduce the ability of rail transport to ensure uninterrupted freight and passenger services,” UZ says.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, Russian forces carried out more than 1535 attacks on railway facilities during 2025 and early 2026, damaging more than 17,000 infrastructure assets, and according to UZ the pace of attacks has increased in recent months.
Private railway assets have also been affected. Ukraine’s steel industry has reported significant locomotive losses, with ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih losing 15 locomotives used to maintain continuous production cycles at its iron and coke facilities as a result of Russian drone attacks.
Oleksii Balesta, deputy minister for communities and territories development, says that Ukraine’s response to the continued attacks on railway infrastructure, involves a resilience model designed to ensure the network can continue operating under wartime conditions. The model is built around three key pillars: early threat detection and situational awareness; multi-layer protection of infrastructure, rolling stock and railway personnel; and rapid recovery following attacks.
