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Russia hits Ukrainian train shortly after Boris Johnson and top European officials leave station
Confirmed
In Short: Russian drones hit a train near the Ukraine-Poland border shortly after Boris Johnson and top European officials had passed through, raising concerns and calls for more air defenses.
Russian drones struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border, just after Boris Johnson and top European security officials had left the station, according to reports. No casualties were reported, but all passengers were evacuated. The attack, which hit the train's engine, occurred about 30 minutes after the train had crossed into Poland, according to Ukraine's state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia. The incident has raised concerns among Ukrainian officials and allies, who say it marks a new level of terror tactics by Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the strikes as 'barbaric' and said they amounted to 'Putin's terror knocking directly on the doors of the EU and NATO.' He renewed calls for more sanctions on Moscow. Former CIA chief David Petraeus, who was on a different train at the time, described the attack as 'terrifying' and urged allies to provide Ukraine with the air defenses it needs. The Russian defense ministry reported that nearly 400 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed over Russian regions overnight.
The attack on the train, which occurred about 2km from the Polish border, has highlighted the vulnerability of Ukraine's vast train network, the main mode of transportation for millions of Ukrainians. All air travel has been suspended since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. In a related incident, two people were killed when Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova earlier this week, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukrainian authorities said the target of the drone could have been the diplomatic train, as passengers on board had been evacuated just 15 minutes before the attack. The incident has sparked renewed calls for more air defenses and sanctions against Russia. Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, who was also at the conference, said passengers on his train had been told to prepare for evacuation before being allowed to continue their journey.
The Russian attacks on Ukraine's train network have significantly damaged its transportation infrastructure, making it even more difficult for Ukrainians to move around. The incident has also raised concerns about the safety of diplomatic and civilian travel in the region, as Russia continues to escalate its attacks on Ukraine.
What's confirmed
- All the passengers had been evacuated, Ukrainian authorities said.
- Russia's defence ministry said it had struck "railway infrastructure" in western Ukraine, but Ukraine's state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said the drone's target "could have been the diplomatic train".
- In a statement, Ukraine's railway authority Ukrzaliznytsia said the diplomatic train "had left the station earlier than expected because of the timetable change... due to constant threats of Russian strikes".
- Both Ukrainian and Polish authorities said the Russian drone had struck 2km (1.2 miles) from the Polish border.
- Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, who had also attended the conference in Kyiv, told the BBC passengers on board his train had been told to prepare for evacuation before subsequently being allowed to continue their journey.
- "On the train I was on we received order to prepare evacuation after it had stopped. But after a number of minutes we were informed that it was clear and we could proceed," he said.
- Earlier this week, two people were killed when Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
What's still developing
- PM's top security adviser says Europe faces hard winter to keep pressure on Putin Russia's new jet-powered drones outpacing Ukraine's air defences with daily launches Professor Katarzyna Pisarska, chair of the Warsaw Security Forum, told the BBC she was in the same carriage as Johnson and Powell, and the attack had happened about 30 minutes after their train had crossed into the Polish border.
- 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".
- “This is the act of a truly barbaric leader trying to terrorise Ukrainian civilians,” Petraeus told the New York Times.
- Some reports suggested Bildt was travelling on the same train as Johnson, although Johnson has not confirmed details of his journey.
- Johnson and the other European security advisers had been returning from the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv, an annual gathering of political, business, security and media figures.