casualties

No figure has been given for the number of casualties in Moscow’s latest attack on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure.

A Russian strike has hit a passenger train in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, resulting in casualties among the passengers, as Moscow continues its near-daily targeting of Ukraine’s railway infrastructure.

Regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said on Saturday that the Russian attack had targeted a railway station in the Shostka community, and that a train heading to Kyiv had been hit.

In a message on Telegram, the acting mayor of Sumy Artem Kobzar said: “There are injured passengers. Rescuers, medics, and all emergency services are working at the scene.”

No figure was given for the number of casualties, but Hryhorov posted a picture of a burning passenger carriage at the scene.

The attack on the train comes a day after Russia launched its biggest overnight air attacks on several regions of Ukraine, particularly emergency infrastructure for power grids and gas sites, raising concerns about the country’s energy supplies as winter looms again for the war’s fourth year.

A statement by the country’s Ministry of Energy said on Telegram that the attack comprised missiles and drones, and that rescuers and energy workers were working to eliminate the consequences of the attacks and stabilise the situation as soon as possible.

Moscow has stepped up its air attack campaign on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure, hitting it almost every day over the past two months.

Media reports and independent monitor describe the latest strikes on Ukraine as ‘one of the heaviest’ since war began.

At least nine people have been reported injured as Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital and the surrounding region.

An air raid alert was in place over the Kyiv region early on Sunday, with the local military administration saying Russia was attacking with drones and missiles.

Some Kyiv residents fled to metro stations deep underground for safety as the attack continued in the morning.

Many regions across the country were also under air raid alert, while neighbouring Poland closed airspace near two of its southeastern cities and its air force and allied forces scrambled jets in response.

In a statement posted on X, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia had fired “hundreds of drones and missiles” overnight.

He said the strikes destroyed residential buildings and caused “civilian casualties”.

“We must maximise the cost of further escalation for Russia,” he said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Ukrainian capital was under a “massive” assault and urged people to stay in shelters.

“In total, there are five injured,” Klitschko said on the Telegram social media platform, adding that they had been hospitalised.

An independent monitor described the attack on Kyiv as one of the biggest Russian strikes on the capital and the surrounding areas since the full-scale war began.

The Kyiv Post reported that the total number of aerial targets is still being assessed, but described the latest Russian attack as “one of the heaviest they had ever witnessed”.

Anti-aircraft fire rang out through the night as drones flew over Kyiv.

In the southeastern Zaporizhia region, the governor said Russian strikes there had wounded at least four people.

“Once again, residential buildings and infrastructure are being hit. Once again, it is a war against civilians,” Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said.

“There will be a response to these actions. But the West’s economic blows against Russia must also be stronger,” Yermak said.

Earlier, Poland’s armed forces said they had scrambled fighter jets in its airspace and put ground-based air defence systems on high alert in response to the Russian strikes in Ukraine.

The moves were preventive and aimed at securing Polish airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas adjacent to Ukraine, the forces said.