Two drones from Russia targeted trains at a station in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to approximately 30 others, as confirmed by officials on Saturday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the incident as a “brutal Russian drone strike” on the railway station in Shostka, Sumy region, sharing visuals of damaged passenger carriages. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of intentionally striking two passenger trains, referring to it as a tactic known as the ‘double tap,’ where the second strike targets rescuers and evacuees.
Governor Oleh Hryhorov of the Sumy region reported that eight individuals were hospitalized due to the attack. President Zelenskyy criticized the Russian actions, stating that the deliberate targeting of civilians constitutes terrorism that cannot be overlooked by the international community. Over the past two months, Moscow has intensified its airstrikes on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure, denying allegations of targeting civilians despite the significant loss of life.
In an interview, the CEO of Ukraine’s state rail company, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, revealed that the drones specifically aimed at locomotives, causing damage to the attached carriages. He highlighted that Russia has increasingly employed this tactic, affecting both local commuter services and trains heading to the capital, Kyiv. Pertsovskyi emphasized that the station only had civilian traffic and suggested that the attacks aimed to create fear and insecurity in border areas like Shostka, deterring passenger travel and normal activities.
