Dozens injured in ’savage’ Russian drone strike on Ukrainian railway station

Dozens were injured in a “savage” Russian drone strike on Saturday (October 4, 2025) on a Ukrainian railway station, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Moscow stepped up strikes on Ukraine’s rail and power grids ahead of the fourth winter since its all-out invasion.

At least 30 people sustained injuries, Mr. Zelenskyy said of the attack on Shostka, a city northeast of Kyiv that lies some 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Russian border.

“All emergency services are already on the scene and have begun helping people. All information about the injured is being established,” he said in a post on X.

Three children were among those hospitalised, according to a Facebook post by the head of Ukraine’s national rail operator, Ukrzaliznytsia. One of the company’s employees, a cashier, was also treated at the hospital, Oleksandr Pertsovsky added.

Russia struck two passenger trains in quick succession, first targeting a local service and then one bound for Kyiv, said Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine’s deputy Prime Minister and Reconstruction Minister.

“Medical teams have already transported the injured to hospitals and are providing necessary assistance. Others (who were at the site) are in shelters overseen by rescuers,” Mr. Kuleba wrote on Telegram on Saturday. He said an air raid alert was ongoing at the station.

Both Mr. Zelenskyy and local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov posted what they said were photos from the scene showing a passenger carriage on fire.

Moscow has recently stepped up airstrikes on Ukraine’s railway network, which is essential for military transport, hitting it almost every day over the past two months. As in previous years since the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the Kremlin has also ramped up attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, in what Kyiv calls an attempt to weaponise the approaching winter by denying civilians heat, light and running water.

Overnight into Saturday, Russian drones and missiles pounded Ukraine’s power grid again, a Ukrainian energy firm said, a day after what officials described as the biggest attack on Ukrainian natural gas facilities since Moscow’s all-out invasion more than three and a half years ago.