A Russian drone struck the locomotive of a passenger train near Yahodyn, two kilometers from the Polish border, on September 13, 2026, Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) said. No one was injured, because the railway's monitoring system detected the drone and the train was evacuated about 15 minutes before the impact.
The strike was part of a massive overnight offensive in which Russia launched more than 450 drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. At least three people were killed and 36 injured in the overnight attacks across the country, according to Ukrainian officials cited in the reports.
"For the second day in a row, the enemy has been attacking the railways," Ukrzaliznytsia said in a statement on Telegram, adding that its monitoring teams continued to track aerial threats and take "every possible measure" to protect passengers and staff.
The disruption has been felt across the network. In September alone, 5,831 train services were evacuated due to the threat of Russian drone strikes, Ukrzaliznytsia told AFP — an average of about 205 trains stopped each day. Passengers describe a now-familiar routine of leaving carriages at short notice, waiting trackside for hours, and following Telegram channels for updates on drone launches.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022, more than 500 Ukrainian locomotives have been damaged or completely destroyed, with more than half of those losses occurring in 2026, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had targeted "railway infrastructure facilities in western Ukraine that are used to transport military cargoes from European countries," according to state news agency TASS. Sybiha described the attacks as part of "Putin's terror" aimed at destabilizing Ukraine's logistics and urged partners to impose further sanctions and help finance replacement locomotives.
Ukrzaliznytsia said the drone that struck the train "could have been" targeting a diplomatic train that had departed Yahodyn station minutes earlier than scheduled. That train was carrying former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and security advisers from several European countries; former CIA Director David Petraeus was on a separate train at the station at the time of the strike. Whether the diplomatic train was the intended target remains unconfirmed.
To make evacuations more targeted, Ukrzaliznytsia changed its algorithm so that passenger trains are evacuated only when an enemy drone is detected within 50 kilometers of a train's route, rather than whenever a general air raid siren sounds in a region. If the drone changes course, passes by, or is destroyed, train movement resumes.
Ukrzaliznytsia says it is preparing for winter, when evacuations will become harder in cold and snow, and is working with international partners on heating, winter evacuation packs, and replacement locomotives compatible with Ukraine's 1,520-millimeter rail gauge. The company has signed a contract with France's Alstom, with deliveries expected to begin next year. What remains unknown is whether the pace of attacks on rail infrastructure will slow; further strikes and schedule changes are expected.