Ukraine’s national railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia has suffered a significant cyberattack that has disabled its online ticket purchasing systems, forcing passengers to rely on physical ticket booths. The disruption, which began yesterday, has affected both the company’s mobile apps and website.

The attack has created substantial challenges for travelers, as trains represent the primary reliable and safe transportation method within Ukraine and for international travel during the ongoing conflict. Station ticket offices have experienced overcrowding and long queues despite Ukrzaliznytsia increasing staff at sales points.

To minimize disruption, the railway has implemented several contingency measures:
– Military personnel can purchase tickets directly from conductors onboard
– Passengers with previously purchased online tickets can use PDF copies sent to their email
– Those unable to download tickets can arrive 20 minutes before departure to explain their situation

“The key objective of the enemy failed: train traffic remains stable, running on schedule without delays, and all operational processes have been switched to backup mode,” Ukrzaliznytsia stated in its latest update. The company emphasized that while ticket sales are affected, actual train operations continue uninterrupted.

The railway described the attack as “highly systematic and multi-layered” and is working with Ukraine’s SBU Cyber Department and Government Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UA) to address security vulnerabilities and restore affected systems. No timeline for full recovery has been provided.

This incident is not the first cyberattack targeting Ukrzaliznytsia, which noted that previous attacks have helped strengthen its response protocols and resilience measures.