Russia ramps up strikes to sever rail to Slovyansk and Kramatorsk

ISW analysts highlighted a notable decision by Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), which on Nov. 6 announced a temporary suspension of rail traffic from Husarivka in Kharkiv Oblast (west of Slovyansk, roughly 45 km from the front) to Slovyansk (about 29 km from the front) and to Kramatorsk (about 22 km from the front).

For safety reasons, Ukrzaliznytsia also said it will close traffic between Bantysheve (west of Slovyansk, roughly 40 km from the front) and Kramatorsk, and between Slovyansk and Raihorodok (a settlement southwest of Lyman, roughly 20 km from the front).

ISW also reminded of recent strikes on rail infrastructure in Kamyanske amid Russian attempts to sever logistics routes in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, including recent strikes on bridges in the Velykomykhailivka direction. Since early October 2025, Russian forces have also attacked trains in Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts and damaged rail infrastructure in Koziatyn, Vinnytsia Oblast.

The ISW report noted a recent uptick in battlefield air interdiction — Russian air strikes aimed at rear logistics targets beyond the forward line of contact, including roads, railways, and bridges that Ukrainian logistics depend on. Analysts emphasized that Russia’s campaign is designed to ease later offensive operations over the coming weeks and months by degrading Ukraine’s ability to resupply and sustain forces at the front.

ISW previously assessed that similar Russian efforts and interdiction strikes over the past five months helped create the conditions for recent Russian advances on the Pokrovske axis and their breakthrough into Pokrovske itself.

The current campaign specifically targets rail infrastructure and seeks to disrupt Ukrainian logistical use of mid-rear areas — notably along the E-40 highway connecting Izyum and Slovyansk (roughly 20–35 km from the front) and the T-0514 route from Dobropillia to Lyman (roughly 14–30 km from the front).

ISW stressed that both arteries are critical for supplying Ukrainian forces in the belt of fortress towns in Donetsk Oblast — analysts historically grouped cities such as Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka, Slovyansk, and Kramatorsk in that defensive system.

ISW warned that after taking Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, Russian commanders will likely seek to shift pressure toward attacking those fortress towns, using the interdiction campaign against near- and mid-rear logistics to create favorable conditions now. It remains unclear whether Russia can reproduce the same effect it achieved on the Pokrovsk axis across other sectors of the front.

Countering this campaign, ISW argued, will be crucial to defending Ukraine’s Donbas fortress towns. Ukrainian forces must also carry out systematic strikes to degrade Russian operational logistics in order to blunt future offensive efforts, the analysts concluded.