A Russian drone struck a Ukrainian train near the Poland border shortly after Boris Johnson and senior European security officials had passed through the area.
The strike hit the train’s engine at Yahodyn, about 2km (1.2 miles) from the Polish border. No casualties were reported, and all passengers on the affected train were evacuated, Ukrainian authorities said. Johnson and other European security officials had travelled along the same railway line on a separate train after attending the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv.
The group included the UK’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell. Former CIA director David Petraeus was also at Yahodyn station on another train when the strike occurred.
Petraeus described the incident as “terrifying” and condemned the attack as an attempt to frighten Ukrainian civilians. Russia said it had targeted railway infrastructure in western Ukraine. However, Ukraine’s state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, said the diplomatic train may have been the intended target.
The company said the diplomatic train had departed earlier than expected because of a timetable change linked to ongoing threats of Russian strikes. Passengers on the train that was hit reportedly received an evacuation order just 15 minutes before the Russian jet-propelled drone struck.
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‘Random and Senseless ‘
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, who also attended the Kyiv conference, said passengers on his train were told to prepare for evacuation after it stopped. They were later cleared to continue, and the train reached Poland’s border station in Dorohusk safely.
Johnson later criticised the attack on X, describing it as a random and senseless strike on a stationary Ukrainian locomotive. He urged Ukraine’s allies to provide more air-defence systems.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attack showed Russian aggression was moving closer to the European Union and NATO. He called for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also held an emergency meeting over the incident. Further warning that Russian actions were getting increasingly close to Poland’s border.
