A Russian drone strike hit a Ukrainian locomotive near the Polish border, just moments after a diplomatic train carrying former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other European leaders passed through. Ukrainian authorities and officials suggested the high-profile delegation may have been the intended target.
A passenger train carrying senior international figures narrowly avoided a direct strike when a Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday. The morning attack damaged a locomotive at Yahodyn station near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing, according to state rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia, also known as Ukrainian Railways.
The strike followed a massive overnight bombardment across Ukraine involving more than 450 Russian drones and missiles. The nationwide barrage killed at least six people, injured more than 40, and hit infrastructure far from the eastern frontline.
Diplomatic Trains and Evacuations at Yahodyn Station
The targeted rail line had carried several high-profile political figures earlier that morning. According to Ukrainian Railways, a diplomatic train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, and security advisers from several European Union states had departed the Yahodyn station ahead of schedule as part of real-time schedule adjustments.
The dignitaries were returning from Kyiv after attending the Yalta European Strategy conference. Bildt shared video footage of the aftermath on social media, confirming that the strike hit a train just minutes behind their transport.
“This wasn’t our train, but the one just minutes after us by the Polish border crossing. It was evacuated as the Russian drone approached and no one was hurt. Very good safety system. Our train just had an evacuation warning.”
Carl Bildt, former Swedish prime minister, via Los Angeles Times
A second train carrying former CIA Director David Petraeus was also at Yahodyn station shortly before the explosion, according to railway officials. Because the diplomatic transport had cleared the area early, rail operators stated that the incoming Russian drone likely targeted the diplomatic train directly.
Passenger Accounts from the Border Crossing
Civilians aboard the Warsaw-bound passenger service faced tense evacuation procedures as air-raid alarms sounded near the border. Katerina Sergatskova, director of the high-risk training organization Daily Humanity, described being ordered off the train quickly as the threat materialized.
“At this point, the mood was different, we were asked to move very fast. Then I heard the first drone. Seeing and hearing Shahed [drones] just a few hundred metres from the border is a very unpleasant experience.”
Katerina Sergatskova, director of Daily Humanity, via The Guardian
Passengers reported spending hours dealing with border delays before the final evacuation order was given. A British economist traveling on a night train toward Chelm recounted hearing the explosion after being instructed to take cover.
“We spent 10 hours at the border and were evacuated three times. On the third evacuation a missile came over and totalled a locomotive in front of our train.”
Unnamed British economist, via The Guardian
Railway conductors and security teams directed passengers to hide in nearby bushes by a lake. No casualties were reported among the passengers on either train, though a separate truck less than a kilometer from the Dorohusk-Yahodyn border crossing was also hit, forcing a temporary closure of the international transit point.
Political Reactions and Warnings from Polish Leadership
Boris Johnson posted his reaction to social media following the incident.
“I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning. What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day — even on civilian railways.”
Boris Johnson, former U.K. prime minister, via The Guardian and Los Angeles Times
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha characterized the border strike as a direct challenge to neighboring Western nations, stating that Russian aggression represents terror knocking directly on the doors of the EU and NATO. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukrainian forces are fighting daily to prevent the conflict from expanding further into Europe.
In response to the escalation, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting on Sunday. Tusk warned that intensifying Russian military actions in the coming weeks and months could impact Polish territory, noting that intelligence agencies from allied countries had indicated such cross-border strikes were likely.
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