04/21/2026
On the night of April 21, in the Rostov region of the Russian Federation, numerous powerful
explosions were heard in the Novocherkassk area. According to preliminary information, Ukrainian drones attacked railway infrastructure.
Trains are delayed in the region due to shelling, according to the monitoring Telegram channel Exilenova+.
New batch of explosions in Russia
Local residents complained that dozens of explosions were heard in Novocherkassk and surrounding areas overnight. Eyewitnesses posted footage online of fires after the flights arrived, as well as an attempt by Russian air defenses to shoot down the UAV.
The Rostov branch of the Russian Railways company announced that the contact network was damaged due to “foreign interference.” Emergency crews and a recovery train were dispatched to the scene. The incident paralyzed the movement of more than a dozen trains.
“Explosions can be heard in the sky, air defense is working. Local residents report dozens of explosions, flares, and a fire in one of the areas – at the site of the falling debris,” local publics wrote.
According to preliminary information, the drone attack lasted several hours. As of 6:00 a.m., local authorities had not provided any official comments on the shelling.
Strike on the railway
Eyewitnesses confirmed online that powerful explosions were heard in the village of Persianivske, which is located in the Zhovtnevy rural district and actually adjoins the northern outskirts of Novocherkassk. The village is home to the Persianivka station of the North Caucasus Railway.
The Persyanivka station and its adjacent infrastructure are of strategic importance to Putin’s army due to their location in close proximity to major military facilities and key logistics hubs.
The village and station are located several kilometers from the Kadamovsky training ground and the main locations of the Russian occupation forces, in particular, the military camp of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division. The Persyanivka station is one of the points capable of providing the transfer of heavy equipment and personnel for this formation.
The railway infrastructure of this area is used for the delivery of ammunition, fuel and engineering equipment. The station is located on a double-track electrified highway connecting the central part of Russia with Rostov-on-Don and further with Krasnodar Krai and occupied Crimea. Trains with military equipment pass through this section, heading from the Northern and Central Military Districts to the combat zone.
As a reminder, on the night of April 20, the Defense Forces struck a number of important objects of the Russian invaders. In particular, a second hit was recorded on the oil refinery in Tuapse (Krasnodar Territory, Russia).
As OBOZ.UA wrote, Russia is losing $100 million every day due to difficulties with energy exports. Such losses were caused by the campaign of long-range strikes by the Defense Forces against Russian oil infrastructure facilities.