Ukraine's foreign minister urges partners to help with locomotives after Russia's numerous hits

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has urged partner countries to provide Ukraine with locomotives amid relentless Russian attacks on railway infrastructure.

Sybiha said on X that Russia is trying to undermine logistics across Ukraine through its attacks on the railway. On the night of 14-15 September, another locomotive was directly hit in a Russian strike on railway infrastructure near the Polish border in Volyn Oblast, the minister said.

Sybiha added that since the start of the full-scale invasion, more than 500 locomotives have been damaged or completely destroyed in Russian attacks, more than half of them this year alone.

In this context, he pointed out that the railway keeps the country functioning. It makes it possible to quickly evacuate civilians from frontline areas, transport vital freight and ensure the delivery of grain and other critical goods across the country.

"To keep this lifeline running, Ukraine urgently needs replacements. We call on all our partners to urgently assist us in finding locomotives compatible with the 1520 mm gauge as well as in financing to accelerate the procurement of new ones," he said.

Sybiha concluded that supporting the stability of Ukraine's railway will help prevent a humanitarian crisis and strengthen Ukraine's resilience in the difficult conditions of full-scale war.

On 13 September, Russian forces attacked the locomotive of a passenger train in Volyn Oblast, 2 km from the border with Poland.The state-run railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) believes the target of the Russian attack near the Polish border may have been a train carrying Western politicians and security advisers.