10/28/2026
Why do Finland’s trains run in Ukraine but other European trains can’t?
Russia has damaged or destroyed nearly 600 Ukrainian locomotives, deliberately hunting the machines that pull Ukraine’s trains after Ukrainian crews got too good at repairing track.
Ukraine asked Europe for replacements, but most European locomotives can’t run on its rails: the standard European gauge is 1,435 mm, Ukraine’s is 1,520 mm, and that 85-millimeter gap shuts out most of the continent.
Finland’s railway is different. It was built to Russia’s imperial gauge on the order of Tsar Alexander II in 1857, when Finland was part of the Russian Empire. Today Finland’s 1,524 mm network is just four millimeters off Ukraine’s, but still close enough to work.
In this video I break down why Finland’s ten donated Dv12 diesel locomotives matter more than the number suggests, why diesel engines are vital when Russia knocks out Ukraine’s power grid, and how Estonia’s 60-plus candidate locomotives could turn this into a locomotive coalition.
Not sponsored. I just like calling out great nonprofits: Support Wings for Europe, a Belgian volunteer group building drones for Ukrainian frontline units: wingsforeurope dot com
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Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes. Crimea is Ukraine.
- Chapters!
- 00:00 Why Ukraine Can’t Use Most European Locomotives
- 01:39 Finland Donates 10 Dv12 Locomotives
- 02:22 Why Ukraine’s Railways Matter
- 03:48 Russia Starts Hunting Ukrainian Locomotives
- 04:21 Wings for Europe: Drones for Ukraine
- 05:01 Why Locomotives Are So Hard to Replace
- 05:57 Ukraine’s 1520mm Railway Problem
- 08:04 Why Finland Is the Perfect Donor
- 08:33 How the Russian Empire Set Finland’s Rail Gauge
- 09:38 The Four Millimeters That Make It Work
- 10:20 Finland’s Russian-Style Coupler Advantage
- 11:36 What the Finnish Dv12 Can Actually Do
- 13:10 Why Diesel Locomotives Matter During Blackouts
- 14:51 Estonia Could Add 60 More Locomotives
- 16:30 Ukraine’s New Locomotive Coalition