Dozens injured in 'savage' Russian drone strike on Ukrainian railway
station
[October 04, 2025]
Dozens were injured in a “savage” Russian drone strike Saturday on a
Ukrainian railway station, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said,
as Moscow stepped up strikes on Ukraine's rail and power grids ahead of
the fourth winter since its all-out invasion.
At least 30 people sustained injuries, Zelenskyy said of the attack on
Shostka, a city northeast of Kyiv that lies some 70 kilometers (43
miles) from the Russian border.
“All emergency services are already on the scene and have begun helping
people. All information about the injured is being established," he said
in a post on X.
Three children were among those hospitalized, according to a Facebook
post by the head of Ukraine's national rail operator, Ukrzaliznytsia.
One of the company's employees, a cashier, was also treated at the
hospital, Oleksandr Pertsovsky added.
Russia struck two passenger trains in quick succession, first targeting
a local service and then one bound for Kyiv, said Oleksiy Kuleba,
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister.
“Medical teams have already transported the injured to hospitals and are
providing necessary assistance. Others (who were at the site) are in
shelters overseen by rescuers,” Kuleba wrote on Telegram on Saturday. He
said an air raid alert was ongoing at the station.
Both Zelenskyy and local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov posted what they said were
photos from the scene showing a passenger carriage on fire.
Moscow pummels Ukraine's rail and power networks
Moscow has recently stepped up airstrikes on Ukraine’s railway network,
which is essential for military transport, hitting it almost every day
over the past two months. As in previous years since the full-scale
invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the Kremlin has also ramped up attacks on
Ukraine's power grid, in what Kyiv calls an attempt to weaponize the
approaching winter by denying civilians heat, light and running water.
Overnight into Saturday, Russian drones and missiles pounded Ukraine’s
power grid again, a Ukrainian energy firm said, a day after what
officials described as the biggest attack on Ukrainian natural gas
facilities since Moscow’s all-out invasion more than three and a half
years ago.
The strike damaged energy facilities near Chernihiv, a northern city
west of Shostka that lies close to the Russian border, and sparked
blackouts set to affect some 50,000 households, according to regional
operator Chernihivoblenergo.
The head of Chernihiv’s military administration, Dmytro Bryzhynskyi,
confirmed a nighttime Russian attack on the city caused multiple fires,
but did not immediately say what was hit.
The day before, Russia launched its biggest attack of the war against
natural gas facilities run by Ukraine’s state-owned Naftogaz Group,
Ukrainian officials said.
Russia fired a total of 381 drones and 35 missiles at Ukraine on Friday,
according to Ukraine’s air force, in what officials said was an attempt
to wreck the Ukrainian power grid ahead of winter and wear down public
support for the 3-year-old conflict.
Naftogaz’s chief executive, Serhii Koretskyi, said Friday the attacks
had no military purpose, while Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko
accused Moscow of “terrorizing civilians.” Moscow claimed the strikes
targeted facilities that support Kyiv’s war effort.
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Overnight into Saturday, Russian forces launched a further 109
drones and three ballistic missiles at Ukraine, the Ukrainian
military reported. It said 73 of the drones were shot down or sent
off course.
Russia faces fuel shortages as Kyiv says it struck a major
refinery
The Ukrainian military on Saturday reported it has again hit one of
Russia’s largest oil refineries. It said a nighttime drone strike
caused blasts and a fire at the Kirishi refinery near St Petersburg,
more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The refinery, operated by Russian oil major Surgutneftegas, produces
close to 17.7 million metric tons per year (355,000 barrels per day)
of crude, and is one of Russia’s top three by output.
Telegram news channels from Russia and Ukraine posted videos they
said had been sent in by residents near the city of Kirishi. They
show drone-like objects whizzing against a night sky lit up by an
orange glow, as blasts thunder in the background.
Local Gov. Alexander Drozdenko on Saturday reported that seven
drones were shot down overnight near Kirishi. He said a fire had
been put out in its “industrial zone,” without specifying what was
hit or commenting on damage.
Ukraine has repeatedly struck the Kirishi refinery, with the most
recent strike on 14 September also sparking a blaze, according to
Russian officials.
Russia remains the world’s second-largest oil exporter. But Moscow
moved to pause gasoline exports after a seasonal rise in demand and
sustained Ukrainian drone strikes have caused shortages in recent
months.
The Kremlin on Tuesday moved to extend a full export ban by three
months, until the end of the year, in a bid to stabilise domestic
fuel supplies, according to an online statement. It also prohibited
diesel, marine fuel and other gas oils from being sold abroad by
resellers.
Russia's Kommersant business daily on Monday estimated that the
gasoline shortage on the Russian market has reached 20%, or about
400,000 tons per month.
French journalist killed in eastern Ukraine
Elsewhere, a Russian drone strike killed a French photojournalist
late Friday as he was reporting from the front lines in eastern
Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military.
Antoni Lallican, 37, died near the town of Druzhkivka, in the
Donetsk region, according to a Facebook post by the 4th Separate
Mechanized Brigade. The strike also wounded Hryhory Ivanchenko, a
Ukrainian photographer who accompanied him, the military unit said.
Lallican's work had been featured by numerous French and
international media outlets, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, Der
Spiegel and Die Zeit. He was nominated for the RSF press photography
award in 2024.
He is the 14th reporter to be killed while covering Russia’s
full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022. Three others
were also French nationals: Arman Soldin, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff
and Pierre Zakrzewski.
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