Home · World · Sep 14 archive
Explosion, fires reported in Russia's Sochi following Ukrainian drone attack
Confirmed
In Short: A Russian drone strike near the Ukraine-Poland border hit a train carrying top European security officials, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Russian drones struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border, causing explosions and fires, according to reports. All passengers had been evacuated just 15 minutes before the strike, raising questions about the timing and target of the attack. The incident occurred as former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other high-ranking officials were on board, en route to a book fair in Lviv.
The attack, which hit railway infrastructure in western Ukraine, has been attributed to Russian drones by Ukrainian authorities. However, the Ukrainian state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, suggested that the target might have been the diplomatic train. Russian officials claimed they had struck 'railway infrastructure' in western Ukraine, but the timing of the evacuation and the proximity to the Polish border have raised suspicions.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the 'barbaric strikes' and urged Kyiv's allies to provide air defenses. He emphasized that such attacks are 'knocking directly on the doors of the EU and NATO.' Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stated that NATO has 'overwhelming superiority' in air power and could defeat Russia 'quite quickly' if Moscow attacked.
Earlier this week, Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, killing two people. The Russian attacks on Ukraine's train network have significantly impacted transportation, as all air travel has been suspended since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine's vast train network, the main mode of transportation for millions of Ukrainians, has been severely damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for more sanctions on Moscow, as the attacks continue. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the strikes targeted weapons factories, energy facilities, and military airfield infrastructure in and around Kyiv. The UN reported that over 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war, underscoring the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
What's confirmed
- Russian drones struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border, causing explosions and fires, according to reports. All passengers had been evacuated just 15 minutes before the strike, raising questions about the timing and target of the attack. The incident occurred as former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other high-ranking officials were on board, en route to a book fair in Lviv.
- The attack, which hit railway infrastructure in western Ukraine, has been attributed to Russian drones by Ukrainian authorities. However, the Ukrainian state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, suggested that the target might have been the diplomatic train. Russian officials claimed they had struck 'railway infrastructure' in western Ukraine, but the timing of the evacuation and the proximity to the Polish border have raised suspicions.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the 'barbaric strikes' and urged Kyiv's allies to provide air defenses. He emphasized that such attacks are 'knocking directly on the doors of the EU and NATO.' Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stated that NATO has 'overwhelming superiority' in air power and could defeat Russia 'quite quickly' if Moscow attacked.
- Earlier this week, Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, killing two people. The Russian attacks on Ukraine's train network have significantly impacted transportation, as all air travel has been suspended since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine's vast train network, the main mode of transportation for millions of Ukrainians, has been severely damaged.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for more sanctions on Moscow, as the attacks continue. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the strikes targeted weapons factories, energy facilities, and military airfield infrastructure in and around Kyiv. The UN reported that over 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war, underscoring the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
What's still developing
- He said this was "the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day - even on civilian railways" and urged Kyiv's allies to urgently provide Ukrainians "the air defences they need".
- Last week, Germany said Russia was responsible for August's drone attack at Leipzig's airport - a claim denied by Moscow as "absurd".
- “If Russia attacked us and we took our gloves off, I think we would defeat Russia quite quickly. We have overwhelming superiority over Russia in air power. General, correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s something like 2,500 aircraft,” Sikorski said during a Sept. 12 discussion at the annual Yalta European Strategy meeting in Kyiv.
- “But if the Ukrainians have knocked out half of Russia’s refining capacity in six months, we could do it in six weeks and take out the other half,” he said.
- With over seven years of experience in TV journalism, Alisa has reported on international and Ukrainian politics, making complex stories easier to understand.
- According to Ukrainian monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Supernova+, a large Ukrainian drone attack targeted sites in the Black Sea resort city located approximately 650 to 700 kilometers (400 to 435 miles) from the Ukrainian border in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region.
- Russian attack on Ukraine shakes Kyiv for hours Loud explosions shook the Ukrainian capital for hours during the night, with many people sheltering in subway stations after authorities issued air raid warnings.
- Russia has launched a massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv, killing at least 20 civilians in the city and injuring many more. (AP video shot by: Dan Bashakov) Russian missiles and drones kill at least 8 people in Kyiv, causing damage across Ukrainian capital KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia hammered Kyiv in an 11-hour drone and missile attack overnight into Thursday morning, killing at least 21 civilians in the city and injuring scores more in what Moscow said was retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities.