Two Ukrainian nationals collaborating with Russian intelligence were responsible for an explosion on a railway track used to transport weapons to Ukraine, Polish authorities have said.
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk said the two people involved in the attack had intended to cause a catastrophe on the railway. The individuals have now fled Poland for Belarus, he said.
It comes hours after a Polish security official told the Associated Press that authorities are investigating whether the blast on Sunday on the line linking Warsaw to southeastern Poland is connected to Russia, Belarus or their proxies.
On Monday, Poland’s security services minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, said the attack on a section of the track near Mika village marked “a new stage of threatening the railway infrastructure”.
Mr Tusk said the track was “crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine” and branded the attack “an act of sabotage”.
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: “We are dealing with the [intelligence] services of a foreign state, and not a gang of scrap-metal thieves.”
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 Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Warsaw has in the past held Russia responsible, saying that 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 gave assurances that an investigation was underway.
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.
