Ukraine, Poland condemn Russia after drone strikes train near border

WARSaw and KIEV: The Polish government expressed alarm on Sunday after Russian attacks on a train traveling from Kiev to Warsaw and on Ukraine's border region near Poland. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski tweeted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had escalated the conflict. Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency team, and Western politicians utilizing the train linking Poland to Ukraine had to rely on the closed airspace over Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Railways confirmed that a passenger train's locomotive was targeted at the Yahodyn border station, but passengers were safely evacuated and no one was injured. The Polish railway company PKP took over the train, causing a delay of over six hours, and the train proceeded to Warsaw. Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz reported that a drone struck within a kilometer of the Polish border, and another drone hit five kilometers away.

However, Polish F-16 fighter jets and a reconnaissance aircraft closely monitored the situation, ensuring no violation of Polish airspace. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Moscow's attacks in the Volyn region near the Polish-Ukrainian border set a locomotive ablaze and caused damage to a petrol station.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged for more severe repercussions against Russia, calling the attacks "Putin's terror 'knocking' directly on the doors of the EU and NATO."