One killed, eight injured as Russian drone targets commuter train in Kharkiv Oblast

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service published photos of the aftermath.

Syniehubov clarified that the train was struck as it was stopped in the village of Novovodolaha, killing a 40-year-old man and leaving eight other passengers with varying degrees of injuries.

Ukrainian Railways added that its monitoring team detected the incoming threat, allowing crew members to quickly evacuate passengers.

Preliminary reports indicate that two passengers suffered serious injuries because they were unable to move a safe distance away from the train during the evacuation, the company added.

The rail operator urged passengers to strictly follow crew orders during attacks, warning that if no shelter is available, they must run at least 200 meters away from the train and the tracks to escape the blast zone.

Russian forces struck the No. 122 Kyiv-Mykolayiv train on September 16. All passengers were safely evacuated.

Russian attacks on passenger trains

Russian forces launched a drone strike on a passenger train near the Yahodyn border checkpoint in Volyn Oblast on September 13, just two kilometers from the Polish border. The train was traveling from Kyiv to Warsaw. No casualties were reported in the attack due to the timely evacuation of passengers.

German outlet Der Spiegel reported that a train carrying European politicians was near the Polish border at the time of the Russian strike, including Günther Sautter, an adviser to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Ukrainian Railways later clarified that shortly before the strike, a special diplomatic train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several European politicians had been at the station. At the exact moment of the attack, a different train carrying former CIA Director David Petraeus was stationary at the platform. The state rail operator noted that the diplomatic train may have been the primary target, departing the station earlier than originally scheduled due to the constant threat of Russian airstrikes.