Dozens injured in ‘savage’ Russian drone strike on Ukrainian railway station

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.

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.