Russian drone hits train near Poland border after European officials pass through

A Russian drone struck a passenger train near Ukraine’s Yahodyn railway station, just two kilometres from the Polish border, shortly after a separate train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other European officials passed through the area, Ukrainian authorities said.

The drone hit the locomotive of a Kyiv-to-Warsaw passenger train on Sunday. The train was carrying 206 passengers, but no casualties were reported after railway officials detected the approaching drone and evacuated passengers.

The incident has raised concerns that the diplomatic train carrying Johnson and other European figures may have been the intended target. Ukraine’s state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said the strike occurred shortly after the diplomatic train had passed and suggested that the drone may have been targeting it.

Johnson was travelling with European national security officials, including the UK’s Jonathan Powell, after attending a conference in Kyiv. Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt was also among those on the diplomatic train.

Former CIA Director David Petraeus was at Yahodyn station on another train when the attack occurred. He later described the incident as “terrifying” and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of attempting to terrorise Ukrainian civilians.

Russia has acknowledged striking railway infrastructure in western Ukraine, saying it targeted facilities allegedly used to transport military cargo from Europe into Ukraine. Moscow has not confirmed that the diplomatic train was the target.

The strike came amid a broader wave of Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine. Polish officials have also warned of heightened security risks because of the attack’s proximity to NATO territory. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the escalation near the border as a serious development, while Polish military officials said the threat was “real and imminent.”

The Institute for the Study of War said available evidence strongly supports the possibility that the strike was intended to target the train carrying European officials, although that assessment remains contested and Moscow has denied such an intention.