A Russian strike targeted railway infrastructure in western Ukraine near the Polish border on Sunday, hours after former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other high-ranking European officials had used the same rail line.
No casualties were reported in the attack, which struck the engine of a train. Johnson and other European security advisers, including the UK's Jonathan Powell, had traveled along the route on their way back from a conference in Kyiv.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that a Russian drone had struck approximately 800 meters (0.5 miles) from the Polish border. Russia confirmed on Sunday that it had attacked "railway infrastructure" in western Ukraine.
Johnson, responding to the incident, questioned the motive behind the strike, stating, "I don't know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning." He also reiterated calls for increased air defense support for Ukraine, asking, "When are we going to give them the air defences they need?"
This incident follows a pattern of recent Russian attacks on Ukraine's transportation network. In January, five people were killed in a strike on a passenger train in the Kharkiv region. Earlier this month, six railway workers died when a depot in Kyiv was hit. Last week, a train conductor was killed in a Russian drone attack in southern Ukraine.
These attacks have significantly impacted Ukraine's extensive train network, a crucial mode of transportation for millions of citizens since air travel has been suspended due to the ongoing conflict. Russia has frequently targeted trains, railway depots, and other transport facilities throughout the full-scale invasion that began in 2022.