President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he had ordered Ukrainian military leaders to respond to a growing spate of Russian attacks targeting the country's logistics routes, specifically railway infrastructure.
His comments come after Russian forces stepped up their attacks on train facilities, including one last week that left five people dead in a railway car in the eastern Kharkiv region.
Ukraine has managed to keep its nationwide rail network running despite almost four years of war. Russian forces have prioritised the capture of train hubs such as Kupiansk and Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.
"The Russian army remains focused on terror against our logistics – primarily railway infrastructure," Zelensky said in a post on social media.
"In particular, there were strikes in the Dnipro region and in Zaporizhzhia, specifically targeting railway facilities," he added.
Russian drone strike on bus transporting Ukrainian energy sector workers kills 15
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© France 24
01:48
State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia warned earlier on Monday that several of its routes in eastern Ukraine were becoming increasingly "high risk," urging passengers to instead use buses.
In the eastern Sumy region, Ukrzaliznytsia said some of its services would monitor for drone threats and stop near bomb shelters if they emerge.
Zelensky said that while Russia has not carried out any targeted missile or drone strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the last 24 hours, energy facilities in frontline areas have come under fire.
The Ukrainian president's statement highlighted the limitations of a short-term energy truce that Russia agreed to last week at the request of US President Donald Trump.
Read moreRussian drone strike on bus transporting Ukrainian energy sector workers kills 15
Zelensky said energy repair crews had managed to restore energy facilities damaged when high-voltage power lines malfunctioned over the weekend, on top of the damage caused by frequent Russian attacks.
"The (energy) system is operating stably. However, given the extremely cold weather and the impact of Russian strikes, all challenges remain serious," Zelensky said on the Telegram app.
Russia fired fewer drones and missiles at Ukraine last month, AFP analysis of data from Kyiv's air force published Monday showed, but still crippled Ukraine's energy infrastructure and pushed the country towards a humanitarian crisis.
The most serious electricity, heating and water outages of the nearly four-year war came in January as the Kremlin battered Ukraine with 4,452 long-range drones – a 13 percent decrease from December – and 135 missiles, a 23 percent decrease on the previous month.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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