Ukrainian and Polish governments have accused Russia of launching drone strikes on the locomotive of a passenger train carrying 206 people headed for Warsaw on Sunday morning.
Ukraine said it forewarned the railway operators of likely drone strikes, adding that no one was hurt.
“The monitoring team gave the train crew advanced warning, and thanks to that, no one was injured,” Ukrainian railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, wrote in social media.
Ukrzaliznytsia said that a diplomatic train conveying VIPs such as a former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson; ex-CIA chief, David Petraeus, passed through the Yagodyn station shortly before the drone strike.
“Shortly before the locomotive was hit at the Ukrainian-Polish border, a diplomatic train was at Yagodyn station,” Ukrzaliznytsia said. “There were, among others, security advisers from several EU member states and former European leaders on board, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In another train that was at Yagodyn station at the very moment of the attack was former CIA Director David Petraeus.”
The Warsaw-bound train was carrying 206 people, none of whom were Polish citizens.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski described the incident as an escalation.
“This is an escalation, this is another great challenge for Ukraine and for the hypothetical future victims of Russian aggression and this means that we should double our efforts to support victims of aggression,” Mr Sikorski said at a press briefing.
The train was transporting 206 individuals and there was no Polish citizen among
“The train is carrying 206 people. There are no Polish citizens among the passengers,” the operator said online. “After completing customs clearance, it will continue its journey towards Warsaw.”
The former UK leader advocated Russia’s frozen funds in Belgium to be transferred to Ukraine.
“I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning,” Mr Johnson said. “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? There is more than €140 billion ($163 billion) in a Belgian bank account — and about £10 billion (€11.7 billion or 13.5 billion) in London.”