Ukraine-Krieg: Moskau greift Zug an – Waren Diplomaten das Ziel?

On Sunday, a Russian military drone attacked a passenger train at the border railway station in Jahodyn, Ukraine, near the Polish border, causing disruption in Warsaw. The Polish government accused Moscow of exacerbating the conflict, and later, the Ukrainian railway company speculated that a different train with Western diplomats might have been the target.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the escalation by Russian forces is now a reality, and examples are getting closer to their border. Western politicians rely on train connections from Poland to Ukraine, with airspace over the country being restricted. According to the Ukrainian railway company, the locomotive of the regular passenger train from Kiev to Warsaw was attacked at the border station, and passengers were evacuated in time, with no injuries reported.

Ukrainian railway company said that just before the attack, a diplomat train was halted at the Jahodyn station, which included security advisers from several EU members and former European heavyweight politicians, including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The company wrote on Telegram that the timing of the attack could have been due to the ongoing real-time adjustment of schedules due to the constant danger of Russian attacks.

Former CIA chief David Petraeus was reportedly also at the same station. Johnson tweeted, "I don't know what crude logic Putin had to shoot a standing Ukrainian locomotive with a Russian drone at the Polish border this morning." He did not elaborate on the possibility of him also sitting on another train near the attack. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed attacks on railway infrastructure in Western Ukraine, stating that they ensure the transport of military goods from European countries.

The attacks continued throughout the day. Two Polish border crossings were temporarily evacuated due to the threat of airstrikes, evacuating several hundred people. The situation at the border normalized by the afternoon. Tusk warned of further disruptions at the border, mentioning that Russia had previously attempted to paralyze border crossings in Moldova.

Ukrainian officials suggested that Russia's plan might include attempts to disorganize and potentially destroy Ukrainian border crossings, which could also affect Poland. Tusk added that Ukraine must expect intensified actions from Russia in the coming weeks and months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously reported that Russia set a locomotive ablaze and damaged a gas station near the Polish-Ukrainian border in the Volyn region.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called for harsher consequences for Moscow, stating that Russia's attacks near the Polish-Ukrainian border are not just continuation of attacks on Ukrainian state borders but rather terror directed at the EU and NATO. Ukraine has been defending itself with Western help for over four and a half years against a Russian invasion, with casualties and damage occurring in train traffic and at railway stations.