Ukrainian drones disrupt civilian rail traffic in Russia – governor

An unexploded aircraft crashed next to a rail line, causing transport delays, officials have said

Ukrainian drones launched overnight have disrupted passenger rail traffic and caused a power outage in Russia’s Volgograd Region, local officials reported Monday.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow said 61 fixed-wing drones were downed during the latest raid, with about half intercepted over the Black Sea and Voronezh Region. No casualties were reported, but damage occurred on the ground in Volgograd Region, where six drones were neutralized.

One drone severed a high-voltage power line as it crashed, according to Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov. Another was downed next to a railway track without detonating, prompting bomb disposal teams to respond. Russian Railways announced delays of up to 4 hours for some trains as a result.

The railway station in Frolovo, located roughly 430km east from Kiev-controlled territory and 135km northwest of the city of Volgograd, suffered minor infrastructure damage, Bocharov added.

The drone attacks also triggered temporary suspensions of air traffic in areas near Volgograd and Tambov, according to Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia.

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Officials in Kiev have described Ukrainian drone operations as an attempt to increase pressure on Moscow and force an unconditional ceasefire. Russia has rejected such proposals, viewing them as efforts by Ukraine to buy time for regrouping its embattled frontline forces.

Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, insisting its own strikes are aimed strictly at military-related targets, including weapons factories and fuel depots used by the Ukrainian military.