Poland has detained several people linked with an explosion on a railway track used to transport weapons to Ukraine, Polish authorities have said.
An explosion damaged a railway track near Mika village in Poland on Sunday, which prime minister Donald Tusk described as an “unprecedented act of sabotage”.
The damaged section of track is part of a crucial route used for delivering aid and weapons to Ukraine, located approximately 80 miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Calling the explosion a âterrorist attackâ, Jacek DobrzyĹski, the spokesperson for Polandâs security services minister, said on Wednesday: âThe Polish [security] services have much more information. They are on the trail of the principals; they are on the trail of the perpetrators.
âI confirm that, indeed, the first arrests are now taking place. The people involved are being detained by the Internal Security Agency and by the police, and at this stage, I cannot provide you with more details.â
Authorities previously said two Ukrainian nationals collaborating with Russian intelligence were responsible for the explosion.
On Monday, Polandâs security services minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, said the attack marked âa new stage of threatening the railway infrastructureâ.
A train driver reported damage on the railway line on Sunday, local police said. The damaged stretch was some 80 miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Siemoniak said: âWe are dealing with the [intelligence] services of a foreign state, and not a gang of scrap-metal thieves.â
Mr Tusk 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 cyber attacks that have hit Poland and other European countries since the start of Russiaâs war against Ukraine.
Warsaw has in the past held Russia responsible, saying that Poland has become one of Moscowâs 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 âjust like in previous cases of this kind, we will catch the perpetrators, regardless of who their backers areâ. In a video address, he added that the route was used to deliver weapons to Ukraine.
He called the incident âan unprecedented act of sabotage aimed at the security of the Polish state and its citizensâ, and gave assurances that an investigation was underway.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said there is âa Russian trace behind all of thisâ.
âOur information is the same: all the facts indicate that there is,â he said.
He added that Ukraine faced similar attempted sabotage acts âon a daily basis,â and âput in place proper [measures] to counteract against suchâ activities.
âUkraine is ready to work with Poland at various levels and to share all information,â he said, adding that the two countries will also set up âa Ukrainian-Polish group that will work to prevent similar situations from the Russian side in the futureâ.
Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the military was inspecting a 120km (75 mile) 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 Swinoujscie to Rzeszow. 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.
