Since July Ukrainian forces have been systematically targeting transport nodes to prevent resupply and movement of troops. The campaign also makes Russian holidaymakers aware of the war.
Aug. 23, 2025
Russian sources confirmed that on the night of August 22-23, Ukrainian drones struck two railway infrastructure facilities in southern Russia, in the Rostov and Volgograd Oblasts.
Three people were injured in the Volgograd Oblast attack, which hit Petrov Val, 185 kilometers north of Volgograd, according to VChK-OGPU, a Russian Telegram channel.
The overall damage reportedly resulted in delays for nearly 40 trains.
In the Russian region just north of the Luhansk border, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) attacked the Rossosh-Sokhranovka railway section for the second time in a week.
“Due to a drone crash that disrupted the operation of overhead lines on the Rossosh-Sokhranovka section in the Voronezh region overnight, 71 long-distance trains are currently delayed,” Russian Railways said on Aug. 21.
Today they said the Sergeyevka station was damaged, where “the operation of the contact network was disrupted.”
“As a result of the raid, the movement of 38 trains was delayed (up to 3 hours 40 minutes),” the statement said.
According to Rostov Governor Yuriy Slyusar, Ukrainian UAVs were shot down in the Chortkovsky (where Sokhranovka is located), Sholokhovsky, and Millerovsky districts.”
“Due to the fall of drone fragments, several fires broke out but were promptly extinguished. No one was injured,” the regional head wrote on Telegram.
In the city of Petrov Val, a fire broke out near a jewelry store opposite the local railway station following the raid, residents said.
Petrov Val is a hub station on the Privolzhskaya Railway with 18 tracks and a locomotive depot of the same name.
“Recent Ukrainian long-range strikes have concentrated on Russia’s southwestern rail network with the primary objective of damaging the Kremlin military supply to its troops in the east of Ukraine,” wrote Kyiv Post defense correspondent Stefan Korshak on July 30.
“Another secondary goal of hitting trains and rail infrastructure inside Russia is to prevent the Kremlin from concealing the reality of the war from travelers,” he added.
The main targets of the Ukrainian strikes – locomotives, train cars and control nodes in Russia’s south-western Rostov region – are disrupting long-distance passenger trains carrying tourists traveling to their summer holiday destination on the Black Sea or the Caucasus Mountains.
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/58822