Russia hits railways to foil Ukraine weapons shipments

Moscow complains western powers are 'stuffing Ukraine with weapons' as war enters 11th week

Workers inspect a damaged electric substation in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine. AFP

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Ukraine said it had received $12 billion in military and financial aid since Russia invaded the country and was promised $6.5bn more at a donor conference on Thursday - but both sides said Moscow was firing missiles at Ukrainian railways in an attempt to thwart such deliveries.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Ukraine needed 12,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid every day, but that only 3,000 tons were getting through as Russia takes aim at supply lines. Countries including France, Finland, the Czech Republic and Croatia pledged millions at the conference hosted by Poland and Sweden to support humanitarian and military efforts.

Ukraine said the city of Dnipro had been hit by a missile aimed at railway infrastructure, a day after six electric substations serving rail lines were damaged in Russian strikes.

Russia said it attacked the railways because western arms and ammunition were being sent to Ukrainian forces by train. Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu complained that the West was “stuffing Ukraine with weapons.”

As the war entered its 11th week, airline pilots were warned by the European Union's aviation regulator of the heightened risks to aircraft because of the war in Ukraine, due to a string of issues such as unfamiliar detours, sanctions affecting maintenance and the potential for troops to misidentify passenger jets as warplanes.

It came amid attacks on supply routes which have stretched far beyond the eastern Donbas battleground where Russia’s ground offensive is concentrated, keeping other parts of Ukraine in the line of fire.

Ukraine’s allies have been scaling up their military support in recent weeks in response to pleas from Kyiv, with France, Britain, Germany and the US all offering advanced equipment such as tanks and lorry-mounted cannons.

Ukraine, which accused Moscow of hampering evacuation efforts by damaging railway infrastructure, said it had drawn up alternative supply routes to protect its troops and other passengers from being hit by Russia’s rockets.

“Russia is trying to hinder the support of the whole free world,” the Ukrainian government’s strategic communications command said.

Ukraine said last week it had carried out a similar attack itself by blowing up a bridge near occupied Melitopol, cutting off one of two major railway lines from the annexed Crimean peninsula to the mainland.

Britain’s Defence Ministry said in a regular intelligence update that Russian strikes were aimed both at hampering supply efforts and weakening Ukraine’s resolve to fight the two-month invasion.

Non-military targets such as schools, hospitals and homes have continued to be hit, indicating willingness to strike civilian infrastructure to lower morale, the ministry said.

Family members mourn at the graveside of soldier Yuri Varyanytsia during the burial of three soldiers in the Field of Mars at Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images

A pedestrian takes a picture as she walks past the wreckage of a Russian armoured vehicle outside the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv. AFP

A man rides his bicycle over a heavily damaged bridge near Pechenegi village in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

Pro-Russian troops fire from a tank near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters

Workers sew uniforms and material for flack jackets at a military clothing factory in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

A dog provides company at a flat damaged by a missile attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Patron, a dog trained by Ukrainian forces to sniff out explosives, near Kyiv. EPA

Lone skater Roman Kovalenko, 18, amid the damage at Peace Square in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. All of his friends have fled. AFP

A Ukrainian sapper carries unexploded materiel during demining works at an airport in the town of Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. AFP

Shelling of the Azovstal steel plant complex in Mariupol. Reuters

Violinist Irene Duval rehearses before a fundraiser to support Ukrainians arriving in the UK, at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London. PA

A serviceman stands guard at the destroyed Ukrainian Antonov An-225 'Mriya' cargo aircraft in Hostomel. AFP

Galina Malets falls to her knees before the funeral service for her brother, fallen soldier Igor Malets, 59, in Lviv. Getty

Explosions at the Azovstal steel plant in besieged Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces continue to hold out against Russian invaders. AFP

A Ukrainian woman collects her belongings after her apartment was damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

An apartment block damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Devastation around an apartment block hit by a missile in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Ukrainian men at the site of a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

An elderly refugee from Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine, at a lunch provided by church group Awakening in Pokrovsk. AFP

Natalia Rudneva, 59, was injured in overnight shelling in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, that put her son in hospital. AP

Shocked occupants of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, Donbas, that was destroyed by overnight shelling . AP

A man outside his house in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. The sign reads 'Bomb shelter, children'. AP

A woman passes Donetsk People's Republic militia tanks in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. AP

A refugee camp outside Mariupol, in territory controlled by the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. AP

The damaged St Godmothers Cover Church next to a bullet-riddled Ukrainian flag in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images

St Godmothers Cover Church, in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images

The ruins of an apartment building in Borodianka, Ukraine. Getty Images

Firefighters from the self-declared Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry battle a blaze at an oil depot after missiles struck the facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Makiivka, 15 kilometres east of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. AP

People wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to begin a speech televised on a screen in City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark. Reuters

An aerial view of the destroyed Hotel Ukraine in the northern city of Chernigiv. AFP

A woman who recently lost her husband arrives with her dog at a charity centre in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

A family of Ukrainian evacuees near a donation collection point in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters

The ruins of a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, which was heavily damaged during the Russian invasion. AFP

People pay their respects during the funeral for Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Borovyk in St Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. AP

Crew chiefs and engineers with the 158th Fighter Wing meet before launching F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation aircraft at the Vermont Air National Guard Base, South Burlington, US. More than 200 Vermont air guard personnel, plus equipment and eight F-35s, are now in Europe. AP

Svitlana, 36, holds her sons Artem, 7, and Kyrylo, 5, while sheltering in a kindergarten in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

Men report to enlist in Ukrainian Territorial Defence Force units in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

A burning oil storage unit on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine. Reuters

Russian MiG-29SMT jet fighters, forming the symbol Z in support of Russian military action in Ukraine, fly over Red Square in Moscow during a rehearsal for the Second World War Victory Parade on May 9, 2022. AFP

A warehouse after shelling in Severodonetsk, as fighting rages across Ukraine's east after a US warning that Moscow is preparing to formally annex eastern regions. AFP

Katya, 11, waits for her mother's treatment to end at the Severodonetsk Hospital in Severodonetsk. AFP

Antonina, 60, at a funeral home where she works and now lives with neighbours in Severodonetsk. AFP

A Russian serviceman patrols a street near the sea port of Berdyansk, Ukraine. AFP

A woman during the rally in front of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office in Kyiv. AFP

Svitlana Karpenko, 53, at what is left of her house in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. She said it was destroyed by shelling. Reuters

The turret from a destroyed Russian tank stuck in the ground in Zalissia, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

Lyubov Lenko, 61, in front of her house in Budy, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, that she says was destroyed by shelling. Reuters

Nina Stefuryak, 2, playing in a park in front of a building destroyed by shelling in Borodianka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

Mealtime at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP

Volunteers assist a man after his arrival from Mariupol at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP

People disembark a van to be registered by police after arriving in Zaporizhzhia. Getty Images

Firefighters damp down the ashes of a fire that destroyed a children's play area in Gorky Park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA

A woman touches a piano as she inspects the damage in a classroom after shelling at Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts. EPA

US President Joe Biden and Lockheed Martin chief executive Jim Taiclet with Javelin anti-tank missile assembly workers during a tour of a Lockheed Martin weapons factory in Troy, Alabama, US. Reuters

Residents collect humanitarian aid in Borodyanka, Ukraine. Getty Images

On the ground, Ukraine said Russia was seeking full control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions where Moscow-friendly separatists have waged a battle with government forces since 2014.

It said Russia had shelled the city of Kharkiv and fired mortar and artillery at the city of Izium, regarded as a focal point of its offensive in the Donbas.

In Mariupol, the southern port nearly occupied by Russia after weeks of heavy fighting, Ukraine said another 344 people had been rescued and taken to the city of Zaporizhzhia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a ceasefire needed to hold for more people to be rescued from shelters under the Azovstal steelworks in the city. Russia is sceptical, and claims foreign fighters are hiding there.