Russian drone attacked the “Kyiv–Mykolaiv” train: 168 passengers evacuated before the strike

On the morning of September 16, 2026, Russian military forces struck passenger train No. 122 “Kyiv–Mykolaiv” on the section between Novyi Buh and Bashtanka stations. As reported by Ukrzaliznytsia, citing operational data, thanks to a timely warning and the coordinated work of railway crews, 168 passengers were evacuated from the train before contact with the drone; there were no casualties. RBC-Ukraine also reported this, citing a post by the carrier.

Course of the attack and response by services

According to Georgy Reshetilov, acting head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, the strike on the train was carried out by a Russian attack drone. Over the following two and a half hours, Russian forces attacked the same train two more times, but again there were no casualties. Firefighters extinguished a fire over a small area; their work was complicated by ongoing UAV strikes, so rescue workers operated in accordance with safety requirements.

Evacuation and passenger transfers

Ukrzaliznytsia emphasized that the priority is the safety of people. For passengers who need to continue their journey, bus transfers to Mykolaiv have been organized jointly with the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration. The company thanked its colleagues for their “clear and coordinated work,” noting that “all goals — that is the most important thing.”

Series of strikes on railway infrastructure

The September 16 incident became part of an ongoing series of attacks on railway transport. On September 13, Russian forces struck the locomotive of a passenger train in Volyn near the border with Poland, which caused widespread resonance as a precedent. On September 8 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a drone attacked a passenger train that had been stopped due to the threat of a strike: passengers were evacuated in time, however one railway worker died; on the same day, a suburban diesel train in Sumy Oblast was also hit. On the night of September 1, a ballistic strike on a railway depot and other infrastructure facilities in Kyiv killed seven people, six of whom were Ukrzaliznytsia employees. Earlier, train No. 53/54 “Odesa–Dnipro” on the Prydniprovska Railway was also targeted, where the evacuation likewise took place before contact.