An explosion that damaged a Polish railway track en route to Ukraine was an “unprecedented act of sabotage”, prime minister Donald Tusk said on Monday.
Mr Tusk said that an explosive device had destroyed a section of the track near Mika village, part of a route he said was “crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine”.
A train driver had reported damage on the railway line on Sunday, local police said. The damaged stretch was some 80 miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
The Polish prime minister vowed to catch those responsible for an incident he said could have ended in tragedy. Two passengers and several staff were on the train but no injuries were reported, officials said.
The blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line follows a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks that have hit Poland and other European countries since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Warsaw has in the past held Russia responsible, saying Poland has become one of Moscow’s biggest targets due to its role as a hub for aid to Kyiv. Russia has repeatedly denied being responsible for acts of sabotage.
Mr Tusk insisted on Monday that “just like in previous cases of this kind, we will catch the perpetrators, regardless of who their backers are”, without identifying a suspect.
In a video address, he added that the route was used to deliver weapons to Ukraine.
He called the incident “an unprecedented act of sabotage aimed at the security of the Polish state and its citizens”, and assured that an investigation was underway.
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the military was inspecting a 120 km (74.6 miles) stretch of track leading to the Ukrainian border.
Warsaw said in October that Poland and Romania had detained eight people suspected of planning sabotage on behalf of Russia.
Lublin police also reported on Sunday evening that a passenger train carrying 475 passengers had suddenly stopped on a route from Świnoujście to Rzeszów.
Windows in one of the carriages were reportedly broken, most likely due to a damaged traction line, they said.
The cause was not immediately clear. Nobody was injured in the incident.
