Since mid-summer, Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraine's railway network, employing an average of six to seven «Shahed» drones almost every night. This was stated by the chairman of the board of JSC «Ukrzaliznytsia» Oleksandr Pertsovskyi in an interview with Reuters.

«Their primary aim is to instill panic among passengers, and their secondary goal is to strike at the economy as a whole,» Pertsovskyi noted.

He emphasized that the attacks do not specifically target military cargo. «These are essentially attacks on civilian infrastructure,» he added.

Pertsovskyi also pointed out that the strikes, which have affected numerous substations, are linked to a sharp increase in the number of long-range drones produced by the Russian military-industrial complex.

«Previously, they simply didn’t have enough resources to use a combat drone like a «Shahed» to hunt for a locomotive. Now they can afford to use «Shaheds» for strikes on individual locomotives rather than strategic targets,» he said.

The head of Ukrzaliznytsia mentioned that since mid-summer, Russia has been attacking electrical substations and other railway infrastructure with an average of six to seven «Shaheds» almost nightly.

«They... act systematically, taking one substation out of service after another or key railway hubs to stop passenger trains,» Pertsovskyi stated. Recent examples include attacks on the Lozova, Synelnykove, and Kozyatyn stations.

However, despite the systematic attacks, the Ukrainian railway is still managing the load, and the transit of military cargo has not been impacted.

«This is a marathon... They (the Russians – ed.) hit us, we recover. They hit us, we recover,» he described the situation.

According to World Bank estimates, about 30% of Ukraine's railway is in a state of «damage-repair».

In previous comments to the agency, Pertsovskyi stated that the Russians are trying to destroy key junction stations. In particular, on September 17, the railway infrastructure was attacked by the Russian army, causing delays to several trains.