On the night between 5 November and 6 November, the Russian military launched intensive attacks targeting railway infrastructure in the Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions of eastern and northern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities stated that the attacks were aimed at paralysing the country’s important supply and transport lines.
Attacks Targeted Front Line Connections
Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, stated on social media that the Russian occupation forces are trying to cut the connection with the east of Ukraine, especially concentrating in the Kharkiv region.
The regional effects of the attacks were listed as follows:
- Kharkiv: The attacks were the most concentrated. The aim was to cut the country’s railway connection with the east.
- Chernihiv: Lines providing transport to the north of Ukraine were hit.
- Dnipropetrovsk: The railway’s power infrastructure and a station were targeted.
Train Services Continue with Alternative Routes
Minister Kuleba reported that despite Russia’s aim to paralyse transport, train services did not stop. Trains on damaged lines were quickly diverted to alternative routes. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, despite the targeting of energy infrastructure, spare locomotives were activated and transport continued.
However, the attacks caused serious delays in services. Delays on the Donetsk and Zaporizhia lines were up to five hours. The Dnipro-Kiyiv service was delayed by about one hour with the use of an auxiliary locomotive.
Kuleba stressed that work to eliminate the consequences of the attacks continued overnight and that the Government would continue to protect “one of the country’s most important infrastructure arteries, the railway”, maintain the supply chain and support the people.
