Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine’s trains in ‘battle for the railways’

BBC:

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.

Olha’s injuries were severe, so she was transported more than 300km (185 miles) to a special hospital in the capital, Kyiv, dedicated to railway workers.

She has just had surgery on her hip and a metal plate inserted into her leg.