For more than 3½ years of full-scale war with Russia, sleek-silver express trains ran between Kyiv and Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, preserving a powerful link between Ukraine’s capital and the two main cities in Donetsk region that remained under its control.
Now they have been removed from the timetable due to Russian advances on the battlefield and strikes on Ukraine’s rail system, dealing a practical and symbolic blow to the nation’s efforts to maintain normal life in the face of a devastating invasion.
The state rail operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, announced last week that eastbound services will now terminate at small stations in the neighbouring Kharkiv region, from where passengers for Kramatorsk and Sloviansk will be bussed the remaining 40km or so.
Many soldiers will probably continue to use the truncated service, so Kyiv’s bustling central station will still witness daily tearful partings and reunions.
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But the disappearance of two more cities from the departures and arrivals board will deepen fears that they could go the same way as other vanished destinations – including Donetsk city, Luhansk, Mariupol and stations in Crimea – that have fallen under Russian occupation since 2014.
It will also increase the isolation of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, which are less than 30km from the front line and will be Russia’s next targets if it manages to take the embattled city of Pokrovsk.
[ Daniel McLaughlin: If Ukraine loses Povrovsk, what will it mean for the war?Opens in new window ]
Train services to Kramatorsk were paused in 2022 after a Russian missile strike on the station killed about 60 people and injured more than 100 others.
But they resumed six months later as trains continued to cross-cross the country’s 20,000km rail network. This has helped people escape from dangerous areas and return home when the situation allowed, while also delivering crucial military and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine along with a steady stream of foreign leaders.
Most trains still run on schedule even as air-raid sirens wail on station platforms and entire carriages beep in unison as warning apps are triggered on passengers’ phones.
“This year alone, Ukrzaliznytsia has already transported more than 135 million tonnes of freight. And over 90 per cent of Ukrainian passenger trains arrive on time,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week.
But Russian attacks are intensifying, damage is mounting and serious signs of strain are starting to show. Alongside the cancellation of services to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, some services in northern and eastern Ukraine were delayed for many hours in recent days due to strikes on power lines and enforced diversions.
Ukrainian officials said that from August to mid-October, Russia launched nearly 300 attacks on rail infrastructure – and they have continued over the last month.
Russia now frequently bombs train depots, key rail junctions and electricity substations that power important stretches of line, while also launching nightly attacks on the energy grid that cause rolling blackouts across Ukraine.
Russia has also begun targeting passenger trains with explosive-laden drones, striking two commuter services at Shostka station in the northern Sumy region last month, killing one person and wounding several others.
Officials say Moscow has ramped up production of drones and improved their accuracy, allowing it to target many more rail facilities – and individual trains – and inflict more damage than before.
“What happens is not just about the quantity, it’s also the approach of enemy forces. Now, as they have very precise Shahed drones, they are targeting individual locomotives,” Ukrzaliznytsia chief executive Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said after the attack on Shostka.
“We clearly see the intensification of enemy attacks on the railway infrastructure,” he added. “The only purpose is to sow panic among people . . . so that the connection will be destroyed and people will be left alone.”
