A railway power substation in Russia's Volgograd Oblast burned after a night drone raid that caused explosions and a massive blaze near Zhutovo station. The strike cut electricity to rail lines, and forced flight restrictions across the area.
Drone strike cripples Volgograd railway power substation
Explosions erupted in Volgograd Oblast overnight on 27 July, including near a railway electrical substation in Oktjabrskiy district. Russian authorities confirmed that drones attacked the facility and admitted that debris knocked out power in the railway’s contact network at Zhutovo station. Governor Andrei Bocharov said no one was injured during the strike.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that air defenses allegedly shot down nine drones over the region. Despite these claims, Telegram channels published videos showing a large fire near the railway and a flash that appeared to be the moment of impact.
Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported that the substation supplies power to railway lines close to a fuel depot, and the fire started after the strike.
Exilenova+ also published photos showing damage to a building near the railways, and said that "also during the night, a technical building at Zhutovo station was attacked. Privolzhskaya Railway reported train delays due to falling UAV debris at Zhutovo station in Volgograd oblast."
The attack led to a temporary shutdown of flights from Volgograd Airport. Restrictions remained in place from 00:40 to 07:30 local time as the damage was contained and power was restored to the rail network.
A similar drone strike took place on 21 July in Rostov oblast, hitting a rail station in Kamienolomni on 21 July and a railway substation in Novocherkassk on 23 July.
