On September 13, 2026, Russian forces struck the locomotive of a passenger train in Volyn. According to reports, the attack occurred two kilometers from the state border with Poland — in the immediate vicinity of one of the country's western frontiers. The incident was reported by Ukrzaliznytsia, which noted that no casualties were recorded as a result of the strike. The event became the latest episode in a series of deliberate attacks on railway infrastructure that have been recorded in recent days.
Course of the attack and the scene
According to an official statement by Ukrzaliznytsia, the enemy struck precisely the locomotive of the train, not the passenger cars. The incident was recorded in Volyn, two kilometers from the border with Poland. Independent outlets, citing data on the aftermath, indicate that the attack damaged the locomotive and de-energized the overhead contact line, confirming the nature of the infrastructure damage rather than damage to passenger compartments. The exact location of the strike is not detailed in open reports, although its proximity to the western border is emphasized.
How casualties were prevented
The key factor in no one being injured in the attack was the work of Ukrzaliznytsia's monitoring team. According to the company, it detected the aerial threat in advance and alerted the train crew. It was precisely thanks to this timely warning that casualties were avoided: the company explicitly notes that it is not reporting any injured as a result of this attack. Ukrzaliznytsia stated that it continues to monitor aerial threats and take measures to ensure the safety of passengers and railway workers.
Series of strikes on railway infrastructure
The incident in Volyn is not isolated. On September 12, Russian forces attacked a passenger train in Lutsk: passengers and railway workers were evacuated ahead of schedule, so no one was injured, however the strike triggered a fire that rescuers subsequently extinguished. On the morning of September 8, drones attacked the "Kyiv — Sumy" train on the approach to Sumy; the train was stopped in time, and passengers and railway workers were evacuated before further events unfolded. Thus, over the course of a week, a series of attacks on passenger trains in different regions has been recorded.
Contradictory data
There is a difference in the level of detail in open sources. Ukrzaliznytsia's official statement characterizes the event as a "strike on the locomotive," without specifying the type of weapon used. Meanwhile, an independent outlet (delo.ua) describes the attack as carried out by a drone, adding that the overhead contact line was de-energized as a result. The difference is not contradictory in terms of the essence of the event (the locomotive was hit, no casualties), but the discrepancy in specifying the exact means of the strike and in the list of consequences (de-energized line) means that some details are confirmed by only one source and require additional verification. Officially confirmed remains the fact of the strike on the locomotive and the absence of casualties.
The totality of facts points to a sustained tactic of strikes on railway transport near the western borders and in central regions. The prompt alerting of crews by monitoring teams is currently the main tool that allows preventing human casualties in such attacks.
