18th November 2022: earlier this week, Russian Railways RZD sent an appeal to the Council of the European Union with the urgent request to lift the sanctions that were placed upon it just days after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine continues, we feel obliged to highlight the continued role of the national railway operator Russian Railways (‘RZD’) – in its appeal this week, it is not telling the whole story.

The news portal Railfreight.com reports how RZD argues that the EU sanctions harm passenger rights: “Sanctions aim at limiting the ability of Russian Railways to perform socially significant, humanitarian functions and are discriminatory in relation to the population of the Russian Federation”, said RZD.

But – hold on – what about mentioning RZD’s heinous role in this war? Even before the invasion began, it played an indispensable role in bringing military vehicles, ammunition and troops to the border regions around Ukraine. During the war, this has continued.

More recently, we have seen plenty of photos of RZD bringing reservists and conscripts to the battlefield, most of whom will likely not survive or will return home seriously injured.

Furthermore, what about RZD’s special military trains that are carrying nuclear weapons? These are probably targeting the EU, UK and North America.

“In its appeal to the Council of the European Union, RZD is not telling the whole story about its dreadful support for the war. On the contrary, the sanctions upon it need to be tightened, and RZD needs to be permanently ostracised from the global railway community.”

Global Ukraine Rail Task Force Chair Jolene Molitoris