A Russian drone strike hit a civilian passenger train in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring two more, according to Ukrainian officials.
Rail carriages were set on fire on the train operating on the Barvinkove–Lviv–Chop route after three Shahed-type drones struck it while it was in motion. The drones hit the front of the locomotive as well as a passenger car, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksii Kuleba said
Eighteen people were in the carriage that was struck by one of the drones, leading to the deaths. A total of 291 passengers on board the train were evacuated, with the two wounded transferred to hospital.
In a post on X, President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as an “act of terrorism” and said “Russia must be held accountable for what it is doing.”
“The Russians have significantly increased their capacity to kill, their capacity to terrorize. They are investing in the progress of terror. And our task – and this should unite all decent people around the world – is to ensure progress in the protection of life,” he wrote.
Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said that the strike had happened in the Barvinkove community and clarified that emergency services were working at the site.
Replacement buses were deployed to carry affected passengers, while support was also offered to travelers who were waiting at stations for their return journey.
“The attack on the passenger train is a direct act of Russian terror against civilians. There was no military target,” Kuleba said.
Russia has consistently targeted railway infrastructure in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
In October, Russian missiles repeatedly hit railway infrastructure in Ukraine’s northern regions of Sumy and Chernihiv in order to cut off communications with frontline territories.
Kuleba previously said that the strikes on rail hubs are “aimed at complicating the transport of passengers and cargo, disrupting stable operations, and creating additional pressure on people and the economy.”