The State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) has said that railway infrastructure remains under attack by militants despite the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.
"Despite the ceasefire, rebels in the east of Ukraine continue to destroy railway tracks, the catenary network, and rolling stock. In particular, there have been 10 cases of damage to property on the Donetsk Railway alone in the course of one week," Mykola Topchiev, the head of the analysis division at Ukrzaliznytsia’s main department of transportation, announced at a news briefing on Tuesday.
In particular, according to him, shelling damaged railway tracks on the Debaltsevo-Sortirovochnoye and Debaltsevo-Kryuchkov railway stretches on September 15. Railway tracks at these stations were damaged on the same day.
On September 16, it was reported that a bomb had been planted at the Mariupol Port train station. At the Rodakovo station, armed men seized documents for a tank car with diesel fuel. Railway tracks were blown up at the Shepilovo station on the same day. Shelling damaged the Debaltsevo-Sortirovochnoye depot and six ChMEZ locomotives on September 19. There is no voltage in the catenary system at the Yelenovka station and on the Yelenovka-Dolya railway stretch.
In addition, there are constant telephone calls claiming that bombs have been planted at railway facilities, with such calls averaging 7-8 per day.
According Topchiev, 82 cases of violence against railway personnel have been recorded since the beginning of this year. Out of the 77 people affected, 12 were killed at work and 65 were injured.
