11:33 18-09-2025

Ishchenko: Why Russia Hits Ukraine’s Railways and Depots

Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko says Russia now has enough munitions to hit energy sites, railways, bridges, and depots, draining Ukraine’s resources.

Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko explained the recent surge in Russian strikes targeting Ukraine’s logistics network.

He recalled that when Russia had fewer munitions available, it concentrated its attacks almost exclusively on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. These were «universal targets,» he said, because nearly everything relies on electricity. As a result, Ukraine’s railways switched to diesel traction. Diesel locomotives do not require electricity, but, Ishchenko noted, they consume large amounts of fuel — fuel that is also needed at the front.

According to him, Russia is now producing more ammunition, which makes it possible to strike not only energy facilities but also railway infrastructure — and, most importantly, Ukrainian supply depots. Ishchenko argued that it is more effective to wait until multiple trains deliver their cargo to a warehouse and then destroy everything with a single strike, rather than target individual trains that can quickly be replaced while the tracks are repaired within hours.

He acknowledged that attacks on Ukraine’s railways benefit Russia but reminded that neither WWII partisans nor the combined bombing campaigns of the USSR and its allies managed to completely disable Nazi Germany’s railway system. Even so, he believes such strikes remain necessary because they drain resources for repairs and divert them away from the front lines.

Ishchenko concluded that decisions on when and where to strike are made by the military command based on ammunition stocks and the importance of each target. He suggested that once Russia has enough munitions to hit all targets simultaneously, it will do so — even, as he put it, against President Zelensky’s bunkers if there is a surplus. For now, energy facilities remain the top priority, but since there is already enough ammunition for them, Russia has expanded its strikes to railways, bridges, and storage depots.