Poland blames Russia after rail track used to transport aid to Ukraine is destroyed by ‘act of sabotage’
CNN Polish representatives have pointed the finger at Russia after a key train track was destroyed in what Warsaw revealed was an unprecedented act of sabotage committed by two Ukrainian citizens who were collaborating with Russian services Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented Tuesday that the two perpetrators who have since fled to Belarus were identified by the country s precaution services following intensive work Tusk reported on Monday that the train track between the Polish cities of Warsaw and Lublin was destroyed after an explosive device blew it up We are certain that the attempt to blow up the tracks and the violation of railway infrastructure were intentional and aimed at causing a catastrophe in rail traffic the Polish leader revealed in the Sejm Poland s parliamentary lower house The established perpetrators are two Ukrainian citizens who have been collaborating with Russian services for chosen time Their identities are known he added Tusk commented earlier that the rail was crucially central for delivering aid to Ukraine and that the attack directly targeted the precaution of the Polish state and its civilians Destruction was also identified along the same direction further down the railway line he revealed on Monday At a press conference Monday afternoon Poland s interior minister Marcin Kierwi ski announced that two separate incidents took place over the weekend one authenticated act of sabotage and one that was deemed highly probable to be sabotage No arrests have been made so far in relation to the incidents Ursula von der Leyen the president of the EU Commission reported that threats to Europe s measure are real and growing The continent must urgently boost threshold to protect our skies and our infrastructure she declared Estonia s Prime Minister Kristen Michal strongly condemned the damage to the train track writing on X that his country stands with Poland Those behind hostile acts against European Union and NATO members must be exposed Our response must be united Michal mentioned Ukraine s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also offered his country s solidarity with Poland offering help if needed Sybiha suggested on Monday that Russia could have played a part in the episode The Ukrainian leadership has not commented on the revelation that the two persons of interest were Ukrainian nationals Several European countries including the United Kingdom and Germany have previously arrested charged and in selected cases convicted Ukrainian nationals for Russian-ordered attacks We hope assessment will provide answers and we also stand ready to assist if called upon Sybiha reported Could have been another hybrid attack by Russia to test responses If true they need to be strong Tusk vowed that his country will catch the perpetrators whoever they are without saying who he concluded was responsible for the damage String of suspected Russian attacks The explosion which did not cause any injuries according to Tusk is the latest in a string of incidents in Europe that have left the continent on high alert Several European nations have communicated incursions into their airspace in latest months with most of pointing the finger at Russia The Kremlin has denied involvement Earlier this month the European Commission adopted stricter rules on issuing visas to Russian nationals citing safety risks related to Russia s war on Ukraine as the reason for doing this We now face unprecedented drone disruptions and sabotage on our soil We have a duty to protect our citizens Kaja Kallas the EU s foreign program chief explained in a comment A research paper by the International Institute for Strategic Studies IISS suggested that Russia is carrying out a campaign of sabotage vandalism espionage and covert action to destabilize European governments Incidents within this alleged campaign include the deliberate damaging of undersea cables the targeting of telecommunications towers and arson plots IISS declared In an interview with the outlet Polsat News on Sunday Poland s Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk explained that his country has been confronted with varying acts of sabotage for selected time according to the Polish Press Agency PAP Last year an enormous fire destroyed a shopping center in Warsaw Polish officers revealed in May that this was the upshot of arson ordered by Russian intelligence services though Russia had previously denied statements of orchestrating arson and sabotage operations across Europe While someone must have damaged the train track Duszczyk stated he also warned against directly assigning the blame to Russia PAP announced Russia is not so powerful that every arson every situation of this type is provoked by Russia However this cannot be ruled out or underestimated in any way he reported according to PAP The country s Internal Prevention Agency is working alongside police the prosecutor s office and railway services to investigate the matter Polish politician Tomasz Siemoniak disclosed on X Poland s National Shield Committee will hold a meeting on Tuesday morning with military commanders heads of services and the president s representative in attendance Tusk noted
