Russian mass drone attack on September 12 hits railways and civilian infrastructure across Ukrainian regions

Why it matters

The September 12 attack was one of the largest single-day drone assaults of the war, with at least 410 strike drones launched across multiple oblasts. It directly hit civilian infrastructure — railways, a grocery store, a gas station and critical-infrastructure sites — and caused both injuries and deaths, underscoring the scale of the daily aerial campaign against Ukrainian population centers.

What happened

On Saturday, September 12, Russia launched a mass drone attack on Ukraine, firing at least 410 strike drones across multiple regions during the day. Air defense forces destroyed or suppressed 336 of the targets.

Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine's state railway company, confirmed hits on railway infrastructure in Lutsk (Volyn Oblast) and Fastiv (Kyiv Oblast). Head of Ukrzaliznytsia Oleksandr Pertsovskyi reported the strikes on Facebook, saying passengers and staff had been evacuated before the hits and that no railway casualties had occurred. The State Emergency Service said train carriages caught fire in Lutsk and that rescuers extinguished the blaze, with no victims reported to the service. Local outlet Volyn 24 reported that a drone struck a train at Lutsk railway station.

In Volyn Oblast, head of the oblast military administration Roman Romaniuk said about 20 Shahed-type drones were in the airspace and that the attack lasted more than four hours, urging residents to shelter. Five people were injured in the Kovel community from hits on a critical-infrastructure object, and falling debris damaged outbuildings and a private house in the village of Zarichchia in Kovel district, with no casualties there.

Rivne Oblast was also attacked. Head of the Rivne Oblast Military Administration Oleksandr Koval reported air-defense activity, warned residents about possible danger from drone debris, and said a gas station in the oblast had come under attack.

Elsewhere, a grocery store in Zhytomyr Oblast was struck, killing two people, and train traffic in Sumy Oblast had earlier been altered because of intensified attacks on the railway. Ukrzaliznytsia warned of possible changes to train schedules due to the ongoing attack and the presence of groups of Shahed drones in Ukrainian airspace.

Where reporting differs

Initial reports from Ukrzaliznytsia and the State Emergency Service said there were no casualties from the railway strikes in Lutsk and Fastiv. Later reporting from Volyn Oblast Military Administration covered five injuries in the Kovel community as part of the broader drone attack on Volyn Oblast. Local outlet Volyn 24 separately reported that a drone struck a train at Lutsk station. The accounts are consistent on the railway strikes causing no casualties among passengers or staff, but differ on the wider casualty picture across the region.

Background

Russia has systematically attacked Ukrainian railway infrastructure since the beginning of 2026, and Ukrzaliznytsia had begun disembarking passengers from trains during air raids as a precaution. Earlier in 2026, Ukrzaliznytsia temporarily suspended train service to Sumy, with Konotop as the final stop and onward transfer by bus. Russian forces have continued to strike Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure across all regions using drones, missiles, guided aerial bombs and multiple-launch rocket systems.