Two Ukrainian military trains, carrying dozens of pieces of hardware, have been destroyed in a ballistic missile strike, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday, sharing drone footage of the attack.
The trains, carrying equipment and personnel of the 41st mechanized brigade, were discovered at a railway station near the town of Barvenkovo, located near the border between Ukraine’s Kharkov Region and Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic. Each train consisted of at least 20 flatbed cars, the ministry said.
Infrared footage captured by a surveillance drone shows a ballistic missile fired by an Iskander-M launcher striking the station, with multiple fires observed on the ground after the hit. The strike was closely followed by another one, with a missile striking the second train, footage shows.
According to the military’s estimates, there were more than 60 pieces of military hardware, including 14 US-made International MaxxPro mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) and ten Canadian-made Roshel Senator armored personnel carriers (APCs), as well as other armored and soft vehicles. Up to 240 Ukrainian servicemen were killed or injured in the strike.
In recent weeks, the Russian military has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian forces in redeployment, striking military trains and road convoys, inflicting heavy casualties and damage on Kiev’s forces.