A Russian drone struck the engine of a diplomatic train at Yahodyn station, close to the Ukraine‑Poland border, shortly after former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and other European security advisers had passed the same line on a different train. No casualties were reported, and all passengers were evacuated before the strike, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russia said it had hit “railway infrastructure” in western Ukraine, but Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia suggested the target could have been the diplomatic train. Former CIA chief David Petraeus, who was aboard another train at the time, described the incident as “terrifying” and called it an act of a “truly barbaric leader trying to terrorize Ukrainian civilians.”
Ukrzaliznytsia noted that the diplomatic train had left the station earlier than expected because of a timetable change and that an evacuation order was issued only 15 minutes before the drone strike. Both Ukrainian and Polish authorities confirmed the drone hit 2 km from the Polish border.
Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, who also attended the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv, said passengers on his train were told to prepare for evacuation before being allowed to continue. The train safely reached Poland’s Dorohusk border station.
Johnson tweeted that the attack was a “random and senseless” assault on civilian railways, urging Kyiv’s allies to provide Ukraine with the air defences it needs. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike a “barbaric” act that “knocks directly on the doors of the EU and Nato,” and urged further sanctions on Moscow.
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting to discuss the escalating Russian aggression. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas criticised Russia for attempting to scare Western countries with the attack, calling for a firm response that shows support for Ukraine.
Russia’s latest targeting of trains, railway depots, petrol stations and border crossings marks a new phase in its war against Ukraine, adding to recent drone attacks that have killed civilians and damaged the country’s rail network, the main mode of transport for millions of Ukrainians.
