Ukraine train had just a ‘minute’ to evacuate before Russia attack

KYIV - Staff on a Ukrainian train attacked by Russia on Jan 27 described their panic and desperate scramble to evacuate passengers after spotting drones headed towards them.

Five people died in the strike, which

hit a passenger train carrying over 200 people

between Ukraine’s west and the northeastern Kharkiv region, according to officials.

“It all happened in the span of a minute,” the train’s conductor Anatoliy Tymotsko told AFP in an interview.

After spotting three Russian drones following his train in the Kharkiv region, the 33-year-old immediately ordered passengers to evacuate, fearing an imminent attack.

But in an instant, one of the drones hit the track in front of the train, forcing it to carry out an emergency stop, while a second drone “hit rail car 16,” killing five passengers.

Dramatic footage from the scene showed an entire train car in flames, while another showed a mother clambering over a train track with her baby in the snow.

Train attendant Olga Terletska, who has worked for Ukraine’s state-owned railway operator for 23 years, was among those who helped evacuate passengers.

“The train manager ran in and started shouting: ‘Olga, they’re probably going to attack. Let’s start preparing the passengers for evacuation’,” the 43-year-old said.

After rushing through the carriage to get as many people out as possible, she fled the train and into the bushes.

“It was cold, it was frightening.”

“You realise the cars are burning, and there’s nothing you can do to help them,” she added.

Both Mr Tymotsko and Ms Terletska spoke to AFP on the sidelines of a ceremony honouring them in Kyiv’s central station on Feb 4.

‘It’s our duty’

Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine’s rail infrastructure in recent months.

The attacks have left civilians dead and disrupted train routes used to evacuate people from the front line.

Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians.

But Ukraine says the strikes are a deliberate attempt to sow chaos for passengers, pointing to repeated strikes on junction stations that handle services across the country.

“The aim is very clear. If you put the latest attacks on railways on the map, you clearly see that there is an attempt to effectively cut certain regions of Ukraine,” Ukrainian Railways CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi told AFP in an interview on Feb 4.

He described the rail network as a “lifeline” that

Russia was trying to cut.

A now infamous

Russian missile strike on a railway station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk

in 2022 killed around 60 people.

Despite the danger, the train crew and first responders on Jan 27 quickly detached the destroyed car from the rest of the train and evacuated passengers into the cars that were still moving toward the eastern city of Lozova.

Train 104 runs in both directions, between the western city of Lviv and Barvinkove in the east, about 50km from the front line.

After the deadly incident, the crew were given leave. They are due back to work on Feb 7.

Ms Terletska is afraid, but says the staff are like a family.

“Everyone’s close. We care about each other. No one will leave anyone in trouble,” she added.

Mr Tymotsko, a former soldier who fought from 2022 to 2024, said he was also scared but that they had to keep working given the sacrifices soldiers and civilians were making.

“It’s our duty,” he told AFP. AFP