Ukraine has nearly exhausted its locomotives / Kyiv requests European support for transporting grain

Ukraine has almost completely exhausted its locomotive reserve following Russian attacks on railway infrastructure, and the authorities are negotiating with European partners to provide additional rolling stock. Ukraine’s agriculture minister, Taras Vîsoțki, told the Financial Times that the discussions concern countries whose railway networks use the 1,520-millimeter gauge.

The shortage is also affecting port logistics and exports of grain and iron ore. Mîkîta Hrubov, chief executive of the operator TIS, said that three locomotives had been lost in the area of the company’s terminal at the port of Pivdennîi alone. Even if Black Sea ports resume operations, transporting goods to the quays remains a major problem.

The Financial Times reports that Russia has intensified its attacks on freight trains in recent weeks. On September 15, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sîbiha, called on partners to provide compatible locomotives and funding to purchase new ones. Since the beginning of the invasion, more than 500 locomotives have been damaged or destroyed, more than half of them in 2026.

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