Ukraine has lost 630 locomotives since 2022, almost 400 of them in 2026

Ukraine has lost 630 locomotives since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, of which almost 400 were lost in 2026 alone, Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnyk said on 13 November during the question hour to the government in the Verkhovna Rada.

According to him, Russia is stepping up strikes on railway infrastructure. Since the start of November, almost 15 attacks on rolling stock have been recorded; they affect both passenger transport and freight operations. In late October, Kalashnyk reported 605 damaged locomotives and noted that many of them cannot be used even after repair.

The losses have forced Kyiv to look for rolling stock from allies. Finland announced the transfer of 10 locomotives, and talks are under way with other countries. The government is completing the paperwork for a World Bank grant of about €100 million ($110 million) to purchase around 60 used locomotives. In September the procedures were simplified: Ukrzaliznytsia may buy used locomotives, spare parts and related services without standard tenders until March 2027.

Preliminary estimates of the cost of restoring the damaged railway infrastructure are up to 91 billion hryvnias ($2 billion). Ukrzaliznytsia forecasts it will end 2026 with a loss of 18 billion hryvnias ($395 million).

Attacks on the railway have intensified throughout 2026: locomotives and moving passenger trains, and not only stationary facilities, are increasingly the targets. According to Human Rights Watch, on 27 January a strike on a passenger train near Kharkiv killed five people and wounded two; on 2 March a drone attack on the Nikopol — Kryvyi Rih train killed one civilian and wounded at least six; on 6 August a strike near Lozova station killed two railway workers and wounded 11 civilians.

Ukrzaliznytsia has recorded more than 1,600 Russian attacks on rolling stock and infrastructure in the first eight months of 2026. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission confirmed 130 attacks on railway infrastructure from June to September, after 142 attacks in the previous six months.