Russian strike hits train near Ukraine-Poland border after Boris Johnson's passage
Quick Look
- A Russian strike hit a train's engine near the Ukraine-Poland border shortly after former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and senior European officials passed through the same line returning from Kyiv.
- No casualties were reported.
- Poland's PM said a Russian drone struck 800m from the border.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Russia has conducted multiple strikes on Ukraine's railway infrastructure in recent months, including attacks on depots and passenger trains that have resulted in civilian deaths. Ukraine's rail network is the main transportation mode for millions since air travel was suspended at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
A Russian strike has hit a train near the Ukraine-Poland border shortly after former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other top European officials had passed through.
No casualties were reported after the Russian strike, which hit the train's engine.
Johnson and some of Europe's most senior security advisers, including the UK's Jonathan Powell, had passed along the same line on their way back from a conference in the capital, Kyiv.
Russia said Sunday it struck "railway infrastructure" in western Ukraine, but the former PM said "I don't know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning" and asked "When are we going to give them the air defences they need?"
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a Russian drone had struck 800m from Polish border.
Russia has in recent months carried out a number of deadly attacks targeting Ukraine's trains, railway depots and other transport facilities.
Earlier this month, six employees of the state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia were killed after a depot was hit in Kyiv.
This week, a female conductor died in a Russian drone attack on a passenger train in southern Ukraine.
In January, President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned as "terrorism" a Russian strike on a crowded passenger train in the north-eastern Kharkiv region that left five people dead.
The Russian attacks have significantly damaged Ukraine's vast train network - the main mode of transportation for millions of Ukrainians as all air travel has been suspended since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Increased international pressure on Russia to cease attacks on civilian infrastructure
Likely · Within weeks
Renewed calls for accelerated delivery of air defence systems to Ukraine
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- What specific type of weapon was used in the strike near the Ukraine-Poland border?
- Will this incident lead to increased military support for Ukraine's air defence capabilities?
- How will Poland respond to the proximity of the strike to its border?
