Propped up in her hospital bed, railway conductor Olha Zolotova speaks slowly and quietly as she talks about the day her train was hit by a Russian drone.
When the Shahed [drone] hit I was covered in rubble. I was in the second car. People pulled me out, she says.
My eyes went dark. There was fire everywhere, everything was burning, my hair caught fire a little. I was trapped.
Olha is a victim of Russia's increasingly frequent attacks on the Ukrainian railway system – vital infrastructure that keeps the country moving three and a half years since Moscow's full-scale invasion.
Ukraine's 21,000km-long (13,000-mile) railway system is not merely a mode of transport, it is a central pillar of Ukraine's war effort and a powerful national symbol of resilience.
Her train was hit earlier this month at a station in Shostka in the northern Sumy region.
As rescue workers sought to tend to the injured, a second Russian drone struck the station – a type of hit known as a double tap.
According to national rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ), there were twice as many attacks in September as there were in August - not just on trains but on the infrastructure that supports the rail network.
This coordinate operation to disrupt logistics links by the Russian army marks a tactical shift amid stalemate on the front lines.
Ukrainian officials emphasize that this ongoing threat highlights the necessity for enhanced air defense systems, as the resilience and morale of the Ukrainian population is being rigorously tested, especially heading into the cold winter months ahead.
