Train conductor Olha Zolotova was badly injured in a Russian strike on her train [Iona Hampson/BBC] Propped up in her hospital bed, railway conductor Olha Zolotova speaks slowly and quietly as she talks about the day her train was hit by a Russian drone.

Freight volumes plunge 9.4% as Russian Railways’ debt nears $45B. Sanctions, war, and industrial decline push the economy further into crisis.

It oversees one of the world's biggest railroad networks, employing around 700,000 people and operating 85,000 kilometers of track that stitches together 11 time zones, carrying millions of passengers and millions of tons of cargo every year. And it's on ...