Kyiv, Sept. 14 (SANA) A Russian drone struck a Ukrainian train near the Polish border shortly after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and senior European security officials had travelled through the area, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The attack hit the locomotive near Yahodyn, about two kilometres from Poland. No casualties were reported after passengers were evacuated shortly before the strike.
Johnson and several European security officials, including Britain’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell, had travelled along the same railway line on a separate train after attending the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said the diplomatic train had departed earlier than scheduled because of timetable changes prompted by the continuing threat of Russian attacks. It said passengers aboard the train that was subsequently struck had been ordered to evacuate about 15 minutes before a jet-powered drone hit.
Diplomatic train may have been target
Ukrzaliznytsia said the diplomatic train “could have been” the intended target. Professor Katarzyna Pisarska, chair of the Warsaw Security Forum, told the BBC that she had travelled in the same carriage as Johnson and Powell and that the attack occurred about 30 minutes after their train crossed into Poland.
Former CIA director David Petraeus, who was aboard another train at Yahodyn station at the time, described the incident as “terrifying.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had struck railway infrastructure in western Ukraine but did not say it had targeted the diplomatic delegation.
Johnson later condemned the attack and renewed calls for additional air-defence support for Ukraine.
Poland voices concern as strikes approach border
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attack demonstrated that Russian strikes were moving closer to the borders of the European Union and NATO, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Moscow of seeking to intimidate Western countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, responding to questions about the incident, said Russian military operations would continue across Ukraine.
The attack came amid another wave of Russian drone strikes. Ukraine’s air force said 85 of 108 drones launched overnight were intercepted, while police said three people were killed when a warehouse belonging to an agricultural company was struck in Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region.
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