Russia struck train near Poland border shortly after Boris Johnson and top European officials passed through

A Russian drone attacked a train near the Ukraine-Poland border following a visit by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and high-ranking European security officials. The incident occurred in Yahodyn, resulting in no reported casualties as passengers were evacuated. Russia claimed to have targeted railway infrastructure in western Ukraine.

Johnson and security advisers, including Jonathan Powell, had traveled the same route from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Johnson commented that he was uncertain about the reasoning behind Putin's decision to destroy a stationary Ukrainian locomotive near the Polish border and questioned when the EU would provide necessary air defenses.

Ukrainian railway officials stated a drone had been observed 15 minutes prior to the attack. The train had arrived at Yahodyn station earlier than scheduled due to persistent threats of Russian strikes. Notably, former CIA chief David Petraeus was on another train at the station when the drone strike took place. Polish authorities reported the drone strike occurring 2km from the Polish border.

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt also experienced an evacuation order on his train, which allowed passengers to continue their journey after a brief period of uncertainty. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the barbaric strikes near the Ukraine-Poland border as "Putin's terror" and called for more sanctions against Russia, emphasizing that continued barbarism would cost Putin dearly.

Russia has conducted several deadly attacks on Ukraine's trains, railway facilities, and other transport targets in recent months. Earlier this month, six Ukrzaliznytsia employees were killed in a depot strike in Kyiv, and a female conductor died in a drone attack on a passenger train in southern Ukraine in January. In January, President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the Russian strike on a crowded passenger train in Kharkiv region, claiming it was a terrorist act that left five people dead.

The Russian assaults have significantly impacted Ukraine's extensive train network, which serves as the primary mode of transportation for millions of Ukrainians, as air travel remains suspended since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.