Blow to the heart of the rail: why Russia beats on locomotives and what will be the consequences

In Poltava, the enemy kissed the locomotive depot, traction substations, energy deductions and administrative premises. At first glance, another episode of war on exhaustion. But in fact, a blow to Poltava is not accidental. It is a large railway knot that connects the East and West, and through which much of military and humanitarian cargoes pass. That is why the strokes on the locomotive depot have not only symbolic but also strategic meaning. Locomotives are a narrow place in the railway system.

They cannot be replaced quickly. After all, it is a complex technique that is produced in Ukraine in Ukraine, and most of them are located in the East, under threat of shelling. Destruction of even a few locomotives in the depot can temporarily paralyze the whole directions. After all, when traction machines are dropped, no way to keep warehouses. That is why the enemy is not intended in the rails, but in the heart of the railway, in those machines that provide its movement.

Such blows have direct consequences for military operations. One of the main streams of supply of ammunition, fuel, spare parts and equipment to the Eastern Front passes through Poltava. When logistics slows down even for a few days, it affects the pace of rotations, transportation of ammunition and evacuation of the wounded. Military staffs are forced to rebuild routes, transfer part of transport to car columns, which increases the risks and fuel consumption.

In other words, a blow to a locomotive depot is not only a blow to the railways, but an attempt to knock out the front resistance. Without a stable railway, the rear economy does not work, but even more importantly, the front logistics does not work, and therefore the army's maneuverability decreases. I hope Ukrzaliznytsia will receive proper support from the Armed Forces to protect its rolling stock. Otherwise, heavy logistics times will be waiting for the front.