The reason is that rail transport can carry cargo in much larger volumes than road transport. This is precisely why many military cargoes in Ukraine are transported by rail."According to OSINT researchers, in September 2025, the Russian forces attacked at least 36 energy infrastructure facilities, including traction substations. This complicates the operation of electric locomotives and threatens to halt railway traffic in certain regions."In my opinion, this may indicate an attempt to implement a comprehensive approach against the morale and logistics of the military, to create panic among the civilian population, and to increase pressure on the country's political leadership.It is worth noting that the invading Russian forces have fundamentally changed their strategy of striking the Ukrainian railway—now the enemy is purposefully attacking individual trains, and not just strategic facilities. I will remind you that on the night of September 17, 2025, Russia launched massive strikes on Ukraine's railway infrastructure. Drone strikes on a substation and power lines led to train delays in the Dnipro and Odesa directions. On the night of October 2, the Russians struck the railway track in the Bucha district, and in Odesa, a large-scale fire broke out after an attack on a depot. In addition, the railway in Konotop was damaged. Trains were stopped at a safe distance from the affected area.On October 4, the Russian occupying army attacked the railway station in the Shostka community in the Sumy region with drones. The strike hit a passenger train, killing one person and injuring others.On October 7, in Poltava, a locomotive depot and a power supply division responsible for the railway's electricity were hit. In addition, the invaders struck near the railway station on the Nosivka-Nizhyn line, located in the Chernihiv region.And on October 9, the Russians attacked the railway in the Sumy region. At that time, changes in routes were reported, affecting regional, suburban, and long-distance trains.The CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, reported that Russian forces launch 6-7 Shahed kamikaze drones every night, targeting locomotives.Currently, the enemy continues to strike the Ukrainian railway with the aim of cutting off connections to the frontline territories, particularly the Sumy and Chernihiv regions.The enemy aims to block the main routes and is also trying to block reserve routes. The Russian troops have clearly thought out their actions, and their operation is comprehensive, setting several tasks at once, and it is of a combined nature.The enemy's algorithm of actions and calculations involves intensifying the shelling of residential areas in large cities, primarily the million-plus cities of Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa, which causes panic among local residents and a desire to leave the city.Simultaneously, the enemy strikes the railway infrastructure, which is done with two goals at once:to make the evacuation of civilians impossible;to block the transportation of cargo for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is intended to worsen their supply."Due to the impossibility of rail transport, the evacuation of refugees and the supply of the Armed Forces will move to the highways, where the two opposing flows (east and west) will collide and inevitably cause traffic jams, which will again worsen military supplies."In turn, according to the enemy's calculations, due to the impossibility of evacuation, refugees will remain in the cities, which will lead to growing chaos in them, and a decline in the morale of residents and the military.The Russians expect that this situation will immediately worsen the situation on the front line by reducing the volume of supplies to the Armed Forces.According to military analyst Vladyslav Selezniov, the Russian enemy understands that success on the battlefield depends on the availability of resources. "Accordingly, the enemy is trying to slow down the movement of military echelons as much as possible, including those that supply our Defense Forces in various sectors of the front," he noted.Thus, the Russians' targets are railway stations, bridges over rivers, railway tunnels, as well as power stations that provide traction power to our electrical network, which, in turn, powers the electric locomotives.In turn, according to the invaders' plan, the civilian population, due to the impossibility of carrying out evacuation measures and the shelling of civilian infrastructure, will exert additional pressure on the country's leadership to bring them to the negotiating table on terms favorable to the Russian Federation.I will remind you that following the strikes on the railway infrastructure, the occupying country switched to attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.According to the Ministry of Energy, on the morning of October 13, emergency power outages were forcedly applied in Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia (for industrial consumers), and Kirovohrad (partially) regions.Also, in the Chernihiv region, the local regional power company applied hourly outages.Specially for EspresoAbout the author. Dmytro Sniehyriov, military expert, co-chairman of the CI Prava Sprava.The editorial board does not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.