Russian drone strike on Kyiv–Mykolaiv train; no casualties thanks to advance evacuation
On 16 September, Russian forces attacked passenger train No. 122 on the Kyiv–Mykolaiv route. All passengers and crew had been evacuated in advance after a warning from Ukrzaliznytsia's monitoring team, and no one was injured. Ukrzaliznytsia, together with the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, organized bus transfers for the passengers.
Key points
- Train No. 122 on the Kyiv–Mykolaiv route was struck on 16 September 2026.
- Passengers, the locomotive crew, and the train crew were evacuated in advance after a warning from Ukrzaliznytsia's monitoring team.
- No one was injured in the attack.
- Ukrzaliznytsia and the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration organized bus transfers for the passengers.
- Ukrzaliznytsia head Oleksandr Pertsovskyi called for decisive action by partners in light of strikes on passenger and diplomatic trains.
Why it matters
The strike on a domestic passenger train illustrates the continued targeting of civilian rail infrastructure in Ukraine. The fact that no one was injured is a direct result of Ukrzaliznytsia's early-warning system and advance evacuation. Ukrzaliznytsia's leadership framed the incident as part of a broader pattern of attacks on passenger trains and pressed international partners for a decisive response.
What happened
On 16 September 2026, Russian forces attacked passenger train No. 122 running between Kyiv and Mykolaiv. According to Ukrzaliznytsia, the train's locomotive and train crews, along with all passengers, were evacuated in advance after a warning from the railway's monitoring team. No one was injured. Ukrzaliznytsia, together with the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, organized bus transfers to complete the passengers' journey.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All supplied sources are Ukrainian and attribute the attack to Russian forces. Coverage highlights Ukrzaliznytsia's early-warning system as the reason no casualties occurred, and frames the incident as part of a continued Russian pattern of "hunting" passenger trains. Ukrzaliznytsia's leadership has called for a decisive response from international partners, including over strikes near the border and near diplomatic trains.
Where reporting differs
The supplied sources differ on how the attacking munition is described: some refer to the train being 'struck by attack' without specifying the weapon, while one fact specifies that the train was hit by a Russian drone.
Background
On 13 September 2026, Russian forces attacked a passenger train traveling from Kyiv to Warsaw with a drone near the Yahodyn border checkpoint, two kilometers from the Polish border in Volyn Oblast; the train had been stopped in advance and there were no casualties. Ukrzaliznytsia stated that a diplomatic train carrying security advisors of several EU member states and former European leaders, including Boris Johnson, was at Yahodyn station shortly before the locomotive was struck, and suggested the drone may have been targeting that train.