Politics
Drone strike damages locomotive at Yahodyn after European officials leave station
A Russian drone damaged a locomotive at Yahodyn railway station near Ukraine’s border with Poland on Sunday, shortly after a train carrying former British and Swedish prime ministers departed. No casualties were reported, but the strike temporarily closed a nearby border crossing and raised concerns that the diplomatic train may have been targeted.
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian drone struck a train at Yahodyn railway station near Ukraine’s border with Poland on Sunday, damaging a locomotive shortly after a diplomatic train carrying senior European visitors had left the station, Ukraine’s state rail operator said.
The visitors included former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, along with security advisers from several European Union countries. They were returning from the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv, an annual gathering focused on politics, business, security and media.
Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s state railway company, said the diplomatic train departed earlier than planned. The operator said it was highly probable that the train had been the intended target, though the claim was not independently confirmed.
Bildt posted video of the strike on X, saying the damaged train was passing through the area only minutes after his train had left. Passengers on the targeted train were evacuated as the drone approached, he said, and no one was injured. The diplomatic train received an evacuation warning.
A separate train carrying former CIA Director David Petraeus was still at Yahodyn station when the drone hit, according to Ukrzaliznytsia. There were no immediate reports of casualties aboard any of the trains.
The rail operator said it routinely changes schedules and adjusts operations in response to the threat of Russian attacks. The incident underscores the risks facing Ukraine’s civilian rail network, which remains essential for moving passengers, aid and goods across the country during Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Johnson condemned the strike in a post on X, calling it a senseless attack on a stationary Ukrainian locomotive near the Polish border and saying such attacks are part of the danger Ukrainians face every day.
Earlier Sunday, Ukrainian border guards reported that a Russian drone struck a truck less than a mile from Polish territory. The Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing was temporarily closed after that incident. The crossing connects Ukraine with Poland and serves as an important route for travel and trade.
The strike occurred near, but according to the available information not inside, Polish territory. No response from Russian officials was included in the immediate reports.