Russian drone strikes train near Ukraine-Poland border after visiting dignitaries pass
A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday, shortly after senior visiting officials, including former UK and Swedish prime ministers Boris Johnson and Carl Bildt, had passed through, Ukraine's state rail operator said.
According to Ukrzaliznytsia, a diplomatic train carrying Johnson, Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had left Yahodyn station ahead of schedule. The officials were returning from a security conference in Kyiv.
“It is highly probable that the Russian drone's intended target was in fact the diplomatic train, which had departed the station earlier than scheduled,” the company said in a Telegram post.
Bildt shared a video of the attack at Yahodyn station on X. The station is located near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing with Poland.
“This wasn't our train, but the one just minutes after us by the Polish border crossing,” Bildt said. “It was evacuated as the Russian drone approached and no one was hurt. Very good safety system. Our train just had an evacuation warning.”
Bildt, Johnson and other passengers had travelled to Kyiv to attend the Yalta European Strategy conference, an annual gathering of political, business, security and media leaders and experts.
Another train carrying former CIA Director David Petraeus was still at Yahodyn station when the drone struck, Ukrzaliznytsia said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on any of the trains.
Ukrzaliznytsia said it “constantly adjusts train schedules” as a precaution against strikes.
“I don't know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning,” Johnson wrote on X.
“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,” he added.
Earlier on Sunday, a Russian drone also struck a truck less than a mile from Polish territory, according to border guards. The incident led to the temporary closure of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing. (with inputs from Associated Press)
