A burned passenger train car — roof torn open, interior twisted to metal sculpture by a Russian drone strike — is being hauled into Kyiv as world leaders arrive to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
The car was struck last month near Barvinkove, the station closest to the front lines. Eighteen passengers were inside. Six were killed. The carriage is held together by cables. Ukraine Railways isn't hiding the damage. That's the point.
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Scripps News was given exclusive access to ride the locomotive with Oleksandr Shevchenko, Deputy Director of Ukraine Railways' passenger division, on the final leg of the car's journey into Kyiv.
"It's now bound together by the metal, so it doesn't fall apart along the way," Shevchenko said, standing beside the wreckage. "Unfortunately, it's beyond repair. And every time it is a pain to see, because we lack the train cars in Ukraine."
Ukrainian officials say Russia used Starlink terminals on the Shahed drones that targeted the moving train. Shortly thereafter, SpaceX blocked thousands of unauthorized Russian Starlink terminals — at the request of Ukraine's new Defense Minister. Elon Musk pulled the plug. The same technology Russia weaponized to burn a passenger train was shut off.
Four years in, this war is a train barreling forward. Ukraine is making sure the world sees what's been left on the tracks.
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Jason Bellini is Scripps News' Senior International Correspondent. Follow him on X: @jasonbellini
