Boris Johnson has condemned Vladimir Putin after a Russian drone attack struck railway infrastructure close to the Polish border as the former British prime minister returned from a security conference in Kyiv.
Johnson was alerted at about 5am on Sunday after a passenger train behind the service he was travelling on was evacuated near Yagodyn, close to Poland. The attack was the latest in a series of Russian strikes bringing the war closer to NATO territory.
Writing on X, Johnson said: “I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning.”
The route is regularly used by foreign delegations travelling between Kyiv and Poland. Johnson was not evacuated or delayed by the incident, while sources said none of the “VIP” trains carrying European officials was involved in the attack.
Read more related news:
Trump demands Ukraine stops attacking Putin’s diesel amid a global shortage
Boris Johnson evacuated as Russian drone hits Ukraine train near Polish border
NATO warns Russia’s attacks are being treated with ‘upmost seriousness’
Ukraine seizes battlefield initiative as Russia’s gains virtually disappear
An ordinary passenger train was evacuated, apparently after a nearby gas station was hit. A separate carriage in railway sidings was also struck, although it was stationary and not operating as part of a passenger service.
Ukraine’s railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said the Russian drone may have been intended for a diplomatic train travelling along the route.
It is entirely possible that the Russian drone’s intended target was the diplomatic train, which departed the station earlier than scheduled after train timetables were adjusted in real time because of the constant threat of Russian strikes.”
The operator also said a train in Volyn, about a mile from the Polish border, had been hit. No injuries were reported.
Johnson used the attack to renew calls for greater Western military support for Ukraine and for the seizure of frozen Russian assets.
“What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day – even on civilian railways. So far Putin has been responsible for the deaths of 1,700 staff of Ukrzaliznytsia – Ukrainian Railways. They and their daily passengers are absolutely heroic.
“When are we going to give them the air defences they need? Why won’t we unfreeze Putin’s cash and give it to Ukraine? There is more than €140 billion in a Belgian bank account – and about £10 billion in London. Britain could show a lead.
“The Ukrainians are going to win – that much was clear from the last three days in their wonderful country. But we will get this dreadful war over much faster if we all get serious and give them what they need and deserve.”
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha also condemned the strikes, warning that Russia was bringing its attacks increasingly close to NATO and EU territory.
“Russia’s barbaric strikes at the Ukraine-Poland border in Yahodyn are not just a continuation of its attacks on our state borders,” Sybiha said on X.
“This is Putin’s terror ‘knocking’ directly on the doors of the EU and Nato. Russian barbarians are at your gate, dear partners.”
The incident is likely to intensify concerns in European capitals over the risks posed by Russian attacks on transport and energy infrastructure near NATO’s eastern frontier.
Leave a Comment