A Russian military strike has targeted a train located near Ukraine’s border with Poland, shortly after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several top European security figures had traveled along the same route. No injuries were reported following the attack on the locomotive.
Johnson, accompanied by senior advisers including the UK’s Jonathan Powell, had recently returned from a conference in Kyiv. Russian authorities stated on Sunday that they had hit “railway infrastructure” in western Ukraine. However, the former UK leader expressed bewilderment at the timing and target of the attack.
“I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning,” Johnson said. He added that the incident raised urgent questions about international support for Kyiv: “When are we going to give them the air defences they need?”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that a Russian drone struck approximately 800 meters from the Polish border, causing damage to the train engine but resulting in no casualties.
This incident follows a recent pattern of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s transport network. Earlier this month, six employees of the state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia were killed when a depot in Kyiv was hit. In another incident this week, a female conductor died during a Russian drone attack on a passenger train in southern Ukraine.
The strikes have inflicted significant damage on Ukraine’s rail system, which has become the primary mode of transportation for millions of citizens since all air travel was suspended following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. In January, President Volodymyr Zelensky described a Russian strike on a crowded passenger train in the Kharkiv region as “terrorism” after the attack left five people dead.
My family lives near that border. It’s terrifying to hear these strikes happen so close to home. Please send more support.
Why are we still debating air defenses? Every delay costs lives. The international community needs to act faster than just expressing surprise.
Boris Johnson’s bewilderment is understandable, but this is standard Russian tactic. Targeting infrastructure to break morale, regardless of who is nearby.
No casualties this time, but how long can that last? Ukraine’s rail network is clearly a priority target for Russian drones now.
The timing is deeply suspicious. Blowing up a stationary train right after high-profile visitors pass through? It feels like a calculated warning.