This Saturday, the first train from Kyiv arrived in Kherson in Ukraine since the city was liberated from Russian forces. On board were passengers, politicians as well as Ukrainian Post parcels and letters that had not been delivered since 24 February. The train was dubbed the Train to Victory, and it has already safely returned to Kiev.

In the almost nine months that Russian forces took control of the city, train traffic came to a standstill. This weekend, the arrival of the first train was celebrated with tears of joy and in the presence of politicians as Oleksandr Kubrakov, the minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine. “Grateful to all railway workers of Ukrainian Railways for restoring the rail service in such a short period”, he tweeted.

Tears of happiness

The CEO of Ukrainian Railways also attended the arrival. “Our train to Kherson brings life back to town. With tears, but tears of happiness”, commented Alexander Kamyshin.

Kherson was liberated from the Russian forces on 11 November. The railway station in the city was among the first to be supplied to the electricity network. The train also enabled passengers and passers-by to connect to their loved ones thanks to the satellite internet technology of Starlink.