Drone Strikes Train Near Ukraine-Poland Border After Officials Pass Through

A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday, shortly after a diplomatic train carrying former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other senior European officials had left the station ahead of schedule, Ukraine's state rail operator said.

The strike hit a locomotive at Yahodyn station, about 2 kilometres from the Polish border, according to Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine's state railway company. No casualties were reported, and all passengers on the affected train were evacuated, Ukrainian authorities said.

The diplomatic train carrying Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, and security advisers from several European Union states had purposely departed Yahodyn station ahead of schedule, Ukrzaliznytsia said in a Telegram post. The visitors were returning from the Yalta European Strategy 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.

Bildt shared a video on X of the attack at Yahodyn station, 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," he 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."

Johnson, who was unharmed, condemned the attack in a post on X. "I don't know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning," he wrote. "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: "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?"

Another train, with former CIA Director David Petraeus on board, was still at Yahodyn station when the drone struck, according to Ukrzaliznytsia. The company said it "constantly adjusts train schedules" to guard against strikes.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attack as "barbaric" and said it represented "Putin's terror 'knocking' directly on the doors of the EU and Nato."

Earlier on Sunday, a Russian drone hit a truck less than a mile from Polish territory, according to border guards, forcing the temporary closure of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing.

Escalation Near NATO's Border

The attack came as both Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting, saying "The escalation of the actions from the Russian side is becoming a reality, and they are getting closer and closer to our border."

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski described Russia's increasing attacks near NATO territory as "an escalation."

Russia's Defence Ministry said it had targeted infrastructure facilitating military cargoes from Europe in western Ukraine. Russian authorities did not confirm that the diplomatic train was the intended target.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously condemned Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure, including passenger trains, as "terrorism." In January, he described a strike on a crowded passenger train in the Kharkiv region that killed five people as an act of terror.

Official Reactions

Johnson praised Ukrzaliznytsia staff and passengers as "absolutely heroic" in the wake of the attack, and called on Western allies to provide more air defences and to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. He noted that Russian strikes have killed 1,700 railway workers since the full-scale invasion began.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: "Putin needs to understand that his barbarism will be met with decisive action that increases the cost of war for him to an unacceptable level. This is the only way to stop him."

UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: "The strikes on Ukraine today, including on the gas works near Nato's border, serve as a stark reminder of the bombardment that Ukrainians face every day. Reckless, dangerous attacks on civilian infrastructure so close to Poland also underline the wider security threat Russia poses."

The attack comes at a time when the front line remains largely static, and both sides have stepped up long-range strikes to try to shift momentum in the war.