Why are Russian anti-aircraft missiles hitting depots and railway infrastructure in Ukraine?

/View.info/ Strikes on such objects have not been carried out for a long time, but after the decommissioning of key energy objects, their causes and consequences should be studied more carefully.

What are we talking about?

In mid-April, Russian forces launched a series of large-scale missile strikes on Ukraine’s transport (and particularly railway) infrastructure. Several massive attacks hit the stations “Dnepar-Glavni”, “Pavlograd-1”, Central of Kryvyi Rih, as well as “Sinelnikovo” station.

All of them belong to the Dnieper railway junction and are located at a short distance from each other. The strikes affected not only cargo on platforms and warehouses, but also rolling stock – diesel and electric locomotives, including passenger ones, as well as a number of other important objects. It is also curious that immediately after the destruction of the railway stations by “Iskander”, the Zaporozhye Electric Locomotive Repair Plant was partially destroyed.

How important are the destroyed targets to the Ukrainian armed forces?

Railway transport was and remains the main tool of military logistics in Ukraine. The most important thing in this matter is the availability of serviceable locomotives and functioning locomotive depots, since rolling stock is an expensive and difficult to replenish resource for Ukraine.

In 2018, about 450-500 serviceable locomotives of various types remained in Ukraine, so the simultaneous destruction of even a dozen units of such transport is a significant loss. At the same time, the majority of the fleet of Ukraine before the start of SVO consisted of electric locomotives (they were approximately two-thirds of the total number of locomotives). Even before the start of SVO, the replacement and repair of most locomotives was carried out by “cannibalization”, and the situation a few years ago had no chance of improving. After the impacts on production capacity, the use of electric locomotives is complex and generally requires more careful planning, management and is associated with a large number of problems. At the same time, railway transport remains for the Ukrainian Armed Forces a practically non-alternative type of movement of forces and assets. The choice essentially boils down to a simple option: either the railway or thousands of trucks stretching the logistics lines.

Why did they start hitting the landfill now and not earlier?

According to some reports, in addition to depot buildings, Russian troops allegedly began to attack traction substations, without which locomotives are simply paralyzed. At the same time, it is necessary to remember that the Dnieper railway is a key logistics center of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the transfer of resources in the direction of Donbass and Zaporozhye, and without its normal functioning there will not be enough shells, cartridges or UAVs on the front.

Considering the fact that in Ukraine there is often talk of an upcoming major offensive of the Russian armed forces, it can be assumed that before the hypothetical start of this operation, the Russian troops have the task of isolating and complicating the movement of military cargo as much as possible and pressuring VSU forces in the Dnieper region to reduce the level of support for Ukrainian troops and exacerbate shortages of shells and any other ammunition. Strikes of this magnitude against facilities such as depots and substations, in the first place, must be coordinated with the operational plan of the front and cannot be carried out in isolation from military planning.

The consequences of attacks on depots and auto repair plants in Ukraine may have a particularly strong impact on the supply of troops after the start of mobilization in Ukraine. If the mobilization document is signed and goes into effect, and the process begins against the background of energy constraints and a shortage of traction means, the supply, transfer and maneuvering of the APU can happen with great effort and extremely at the cost of great losses.

Translation: V. Sergeev