🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦 Russian Hunting for Ukrainian Locomotives. An Attempt to Estimate the Scale of the Crisis.

On September 14, 2026, Ukrainian Minister of Reconstruction, Infrastructure and Transport Mykola Kalashnyk presented the current situation regarding the functioning of the country's logistics amid intensifying Russian attacks at a special meeting with EU ambassadors. During the meeting, it was reported that the Russians have damaged or destroyed 509 locomotives of the Ukrainian Railways company (Ukrzaliznytsia) since 2022. Of these, approximately 300 locomotives were destroyed or damaged in the last 8 months. At the same time, the scale of Russian attacks is increasing. In the first two weeks of September 2026, the Russians destroyed or damaged 17 locomotives. Meanwhile, in July–August, Ukrainian Railways were losing 37–40 locomotives per month.

To determine the scale of the crisis that Ukrzaliznytsia must currently contend with, it is necessary to know the exact number of locomotives at the disposal of this state monopoly. I recall that the basic track gauge in Ukraine is 1520 mm. This is the so-called broad gauge (Russian/post-Soviet standard), which is 85 mm wider than the standard European gauge. As a result, simply handing over used locomotives from EU countries is not feasible. Only the Baltic states and Finland have a certain number of locomotives adapted for broad gauge.

According to the data I have collected, in February 2022, Ukrainian Railways had a total of 3596 locomotives at its disposal. Of these:
- 550 passenger locomotives (71 diesel, 479 electric);
- 1258 shunting locomotives;
- 1788 freight locomotives (639 diesel locomotives, 1149 electric);

Of the 1788 freight locomotives, approximately 970 were in operation before the war. Another 648 were undergoing repairs or were in so-called storage reserve. Another 170 locomotives were retired rolling stock. Although it was formally listed in the inventory of Ukrainian Railways, in practice it did not constitute a direct strategic reserve, as restoring it to service would require enormous financial outlays, availability of spare parts, and at least 1–2 years of time.

Regarding repair capabilities. Ukrainian Railways has the following repair facilities:

- Lvov Locomotive Repair Plant (Specializes mainly in major overhauls and modernizations of direct current and alternating current electric locomotives);
- Dnipropetrovsk Locomotive Repair Plant (Main repair center for passenger and freight electric locomotives)
- Poltava Locomotive Repair Plant (Center focused on major overhauls and modernizations of diesel freight locomotives as well as shunting locomotives.

There was also the Zaporozhizhia Electric Locomotive Repair Plant, but several months ago it ceased operations as a result of Russian shelling.

In total, all these facilities had previously renewed approximately 90–110 locomotives per year.

In summary. Since I do not have exact data, I will assume that of these 509 locomotives destroyed so far, approximately 300 were freight locomotives. That is about half of Ukrainian Railways' pre-war storage reserve. Therefore, if the rate of losses at 40 locomotives per month is maintained, Ukrainian Railways will mathematically begin to run out of freight locomotives around June 2027. In practice, however, I believe this will happen around March 2027.

The situation is even worse in the case of passenger locomotives. If we assume that approximately 200 passenger locomotives have been destroyed by the Russians, then Ukrainian Railways is already grappling with a shortage of them at this point. Meanwhile, over the next six months, if the rate of losses is maintained (approximately 90–100 passenger locomotives), the Ukrainian rail passenger transport system will face significant restrictions.

🔗 Thorkill

⛽️ 🇫🇷 🚗 France is facing a growing fuel shortage with 11% of the country's gas stations now reporting that they are out of stock of either gas or diesel, according to the latest data published by the French government.

In parts of the country, this figure now stands as high as 16%.

Meanwhile, the average price of diesel is up to €2.38 per liter, less than 1% away from a record high, and the average price of gasoline is also at or above record highs.

French President Macron convened an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis and the government is preparing to offer financial support to high-mileage drivers.

Energy inflation is skyrocketing.

📎 KobeissiLetter