A Russian drone hit a train near Ukraine’s western border with Poland on Sunday, shortly after senior Western officials had passed along the same route, according to Ukraine’s railway authority. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks in the Volyn region caused a locomotive to catch fire and damaged a fuel station.
The strike site and the trains at the station
The railway authority said the incident took place at Yahodyn station, about two kilometres from the Polish border. A diplomatic train carrying security advisers from European Union member states and former European officials was at the station.
The authority added that another train was at the station during the attack, carrying former US Central Intelligence Agency director David Petraeus. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt had passed along the route before the strike.
Bildt said the drone had not targeted the train he was travelling on, but a train that arrived at the border crossing minutes later. He added that the train was evacuated as the drone approached, confirming that no one was hurt. Johnson condemned the attack, writing on X: “I do not know what twisted logic led Putin to target a stationary Ukrainian locomotive at the Polish border this morning.”
He added that Ukrainians face such attacks every day, including on civilian railway lines. Bildt and several European politicians were returning by train to Europe after attending a conference in Kyiv on the “European Yalta Strategy,” an annual gathering attended by officials and experts in politics, business, security and media.
Mutual accusations and Polish response
In another incident earlier on Sunday, Polish and Ukrainian officials accused Russia of attacking a truck near the countries’ border. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Russian President Vladimir Putin “is escalating,” while Prime Minister Donald Tusk called a crisis-cell meeting.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for tougher sanctions on Moscow following the attacks. Ukraine operates several crossings with Poland through which a large share of military and humanitarian aid from its allies passes. Western officials also use the railway line between the two countries to reach Kyiv, as Ukrainian airspace remains closed because of the war.
