Belarus is facing a shortage of railcars due to military shipments
Belarus has reported a shortage of railcars amid large-scale military transport operations. The last time a similar situation occurred was in late 2021, on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In late August 2026, the Belarusian Railway experienced a shortage of serviceable empty flatcars available for loading. This is due to an increase in the volume of military shipments, and a similar situation was last recorded in late 2021.
This was reported by the Belarusian Railway Workers’ Union. A portion of the universal flatcars from the Belarusian Railways fleet and the “Belintertrans” transport and logistics center have already been allocated for military shipments or reserved for upcoming departures.
Due to the shortage of flatcars, other shippers are receiving fewer railcars or are forced to wait for them to be made available. At the same time, the exact number of flatcars involved in the transport of military equipment, as well as the loading stations and train routes, are currently unknown.
The shortage coincided with operational-tactical exercises by the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense Forces, which are taking place from August 25 to September 10. The second phase of the exercises is scheduled to take place at the Russian Ashuluk training ground, where live-fire exercises by aviation and anti-aircraft missile units are planned.
However, according to sources, the shipments to Ashuluk account for only a small portion of the current demand for flatcars. The remaining cars were likely allocated for other military transports, the purpose of which has not yet been determined.
Flatcars are used to transport tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery systems, and other military equipment. For each such shipment, the cars are selected based on their type, length, and load capacity, after which their technical condition is inspected.
The flatcars become unavailable to civilian shippers not only during the actual transport. They are removed from general circulation even as they are routed to military loading stations and are returned to general circulation only after unloading, a technical inspection, and subsequent reallocation.
A similar shortage of flatcars was observed in September 2021 during the joint Belarus-Russia “Zapad-2021” exercises. At that time, the Belarusian Railways was unable to provide flatcars to meet additional requests from large enterprises.
The authorities at the time explained the lack of available cars by citing the fulfillment of state tasks related to national security. Some of the flatcars were occupied with the transport of military equipment, and after the exercises ended, the cars remained in maintenance for several more weeks.
Data from 2025 provides an idea of the scale of such transport operations. At that time, 104 flatcars were needed to transport equipment from three Air Force and Air Defense units to the Ashuluk training ground, and another 36 railcars were used for a separate train carrying equipment to the Kapustin Yar training ground.
At the same time, the current shortage of flatcars does not yet indicate preparations for a new large-scale movement of Russian troops through Belarus. In January 2022, on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian military trains began arriving in the country en masse.
In January 2022 alone, 5,229 railcars of various types were sent to the Belarusian Ministry of Defense, and in February, another 3,292. Currently, there is no data on comparable scales of military transport, mass arrivals of Russian units, or the buildup of trains on specific routes.
The situation may change if the shortage of flatcars persists for a long time, the number of unfulfilled requests increases, or new routes for military trains emerge. For now, based on available data, the issue is limited to a shortage of flatcars due to military shipments.
As a reminder, there are no significant strike forces stationed along the border with Belarus.
Nevertheless, in the Gomel region of Belarus, near the Yakymivka station, a new military training ground is being built with railway infrastructure capable of facilitating the rapid movement of heavy equipment. The facility is located approximately 40 km from the Ukrainian border, and its construction is confirmed by satellite imagery and government procurement data.
