Марія Бровінська Hot News 24 March 2025, 10:58

UPD. Targeted, complex and multi-level attack on servers and IT resources of Ukrzaliznytsia. Online services have been down for a day: how to buy tickets

Ukrzaliznytsia named the cause of the large-scale IT system failure.

« I will keep you updated on the recovery and what additional changes we are implementing so that passengers feel the impact as little as possible. Targeted attack and recovery status. We worked through this day in close cooperation with the Cyber Department of the Security Service of Ukraine and now we can officially announce: an unprecedented cyber attack was carried out on the servers and IT resources of Ukrzaliznytsia — targeted, complex and multi-level,» Oleksandr Pertsovsky, Chairman of the Board of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, wrote on Facebook.

The key thing, according to him, the enemy failed: the movement of trains is stable, they run clearly without delays, and all operational processes of movement are set up in a backup format: «The railway continues to move despite physical attacks on the infrastructure, it cannot be stopped even by the most vile cyberattacks!»

The carrier’s CEO reported that work to restore online sales lasted all night and is continuing.

«Ukrzaliznytsia has often become a target of hostile cyberattacks in recent years, so it has carefully built protection algorithms. We have implemented backup protocols in advance. However, since the damage is very systemic, non-trivial, and multi-level, before fully restoring from „backups,“ specialists from the UZ and the Cyber Department of the SBU must thoroughly test the services for possible vulnerabilities,» he noted.

The forecast and algorithm of actions for passengers is as follows: «We will take everyone!».

Currently, online sales remain unavailable and the company will continue to operate offline during this day.

If you need to travel today (March 24) or tomorrow (March 25) morning and don’t have a ticket yet:

Tickets are sold through box offices. Box offices have been reinforced with staff and opening hours have been extended;
for these days (March 24 and 25), the sale of international tickets at box offices has been activated (usually only online);
In extreme cases, if you don’t have time to buy a ticket at the ticket office, go directly to the train. Train crews are informed how to arrange your travel on the spot (we apologize in advance, there may not be seats in all classes available, but we strive to accommodate everyone!). If you are planning a trip later than the morning flights on 25.03
We strongly ask UZ NOT to storm the ticket offices today. They will work with exclusive priority on serving passengers with departures today or tomorrow!

The restoration of online services will be announced later.

«The math is as follows: usually on Monday, up to 100,000 passengers buy tickets through all channels. Only 10,000 through the ticket offices. If all 100,000 go to the ticket offices today, we will have a 10x increase in the number of passengers and huge queues. But out of 100,000, no more than 20% will buy tickets the day after tomorrow, that is, up to 20,000, and our enhanced shifts will handle this volume with moderate expectations. Therefore, we are introducing such a regime, asking for your understanding and cooperation! We also remind you that we are giving everyone who wants to return their train ticket for the March 24 departure the opportunity to do so online,» Pertsovsky wrote.

It is enough to send a scanned copy or a clear photo of the ticket and a contact phone number to the email address services.uz.gov.ua @gmail.com at least an hour before your flight departs . «We will process your refund request within 3 days from the moment the systems are restored. Please report any other unusual cases to services.uz.gov.ua @gmail.com,» he reminded.

UPD. According to Ukrzaliznytsia, changes have been made to the railway ticket offices at train stations. «For example, in Kyiv, the number of open ticket offices has doubled. Station employees are constantly monitoring the queues. Currently, they are no longer than for morning coffee, the wait is about 15 minutes. If you need to buy tickets today, we recommend that you visit the ticket office at lunchtime,» the company advises .

As a reminder, on Sunday morning, March 23, Ukrzaliznytsia reported a failure in the company’s IT system. The company did not specify the reasons for the failure. Here is what Ukrzaliznytsia advises those who already have tickets or plan to purchase them.

Ticket sales via the app and website, online ordering services, and information services are temporarily unavailable. The company has strengthened its ticket offices as much as possible and is enabling train conductors to issue travel on board in the most urgent cases.
If the previously purchased ticket is not loaded into the application, check your email — there is a PDF duplicate there. While we are working on restoring online services, we are temporarily opening ticket sales at station ticket offices for all international flights departing on March 23 and 24. These tickets will be available at all international ticket offices at stations from 10:00 until the systems are restored. We will inform you about the changes additionally, follow the information on the official resources of Ukrzaliznytsia,» the company noted.
«The purchase of tickets through the «Army+» service is also temporarily unavailable. At the same time, we will ensure that servicemen of the Defense Forces of Ukraine who need urgent travel and cannot purchase tickets online will definitely be able to get there,» the carrier said in a statement. The following options are available: issue tickets at all ticket offices of stations across the country, in particular, priority at ticket offices for the military, or issue travel directly on board with the help of the train conductor (everyone has received appropriate instructions).
For those who urgently need to arrange carriages for people with disabilities, book escorts at the station or lounge, group transportation or car carriers for March 23–24, we do this manually based on requests via services.uz.gov.ua @gmail.com.

Trains are moving without changes, the situation is under control, Ukrzaliznytsia added.

UPD. There was a technical failure in the IT system of Ukrzaliznytsia. Online services are not working - tickets can be purchased directly on the trains