Polish authorities are preparing to press charges against two Ukrainian individuals for carrying out an act of terrorist sabotage on behalf of Russia. The incident involved an explosion that caused damage to a train track crucial for deliveries to Ukraine, as stated by prosecutors on Wednesday. The suspects fled to Belarus immediately after executing the attack on the rail line connecting Warsaw to the Ukrainian border. Allegations suggest that the two Ukrainians had been in collusion with Russian secret services for an extended period.
Several individuals have been apprehended in connection with the railway blast, with further details yet to be disclosed by prosecutors. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has labeled the explosion as an unprecedented act of sabotage, while Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has described it as an act of state terror.
The explosion caused track damage near Mika, approximately 100 kilometers southeast of Warsaw, with no reported injuries. In a separate incident over the weekend, power lines were destroyed in Puławy, about 50 kilometers from Lublin in eastern Poland.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has echoed suspicions of a Russian link to the sabotage, emphasizing that only Russians would have an interest in such actions. Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine would cooperate with Poland by providing necessary information and establishing a joint Polish-Ukrainian working group to combat Russian sabotage.
Western officials have accused Russia and its affiliates of orchestrating numerous attacks and incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine over three years ago, with the aim of destabilizing support for Ukraine and sowing fear to divide European nations.
To bolster the defense of critical infrastructure, the Polish government announced the deployment of up to 10,000 soldiers to assist the police. In response to the attack, Sikorski declared the closure of the last remaining Russian consulate in Gdansk, following the shutdown of consulates in Krakow and Poznan in recent years. The Russian embassy in Warsaw, however, remains operational.
In retaliation, Russia announced plans to scale back Poland’s diplomatic and consular presence in Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed regret over the deteriorating relations with Poland, attributing the move to the Polish authorities’ decision to minimize diplomatic ties.