- Published
A Russian drone has hit a train near the Ukraine-Poland border shortly after former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and top European security officials had passed through.
asserted
Johnson → publish → border
No casualties were reported after the strike at Yahodyn, which hit the train's engine.
asserted
which → report → engine
All the passengers had been evacuated, Ukrainian authorities said.
asserted
authorities → evacuate → ?
Johnson and other European national security advisers, including the UK's Jonathan Powell, had passed along the same line on a different train on their way back from a conference in Kyiv.
asserted
Johnson → include → Kyiv
Russia said it had struck "railway infrastructure" in western Ukraine, but Ukraine's state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said that "quite possibly, the target of this drone could have been the diplomatic train".
uncertain
target → say → drone
Former CIA chief David Petraeus, who had been on board another train at Yahodyn station at the time of the strike, said the incident was "terrifying".
asserted
incident → say → strike
In an interview with the New York Times, Petraeus said: "This is the act of a truly barbaric leader trying to terrorize Ukrainian civilians."
asserted
This → say → civilians
In a statement, Ukrzaliznytsia said the diplomatic train "had left the station earlier than expected because of the timetable change... due to constant threats of Russian strikes".
asserted
train → say → strikes
It also said an evacuation order for passengers on the hit train had been given "just 15 minutes" before the strike by a Russian jet-propelled drone.
asserted
order → say → drone
Both Ukrainian and Polish authorities said the Russian drone had struck 2km (1.2 miles) from the Polish border.
asserted
drone → say → border
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, who had also attended the conference in Kyiv, told the BBC passengers on board his train had been told to prepare for evacuation before subsequently being allowed to continue their journey.
asserted
passengers → attend → journey
"On the train I was on we received order to prepare evacuation after it had stopped.
asserted
it → receive → evacuation
But after a number of minutes we were informed that it was clear and we could proceed," he said.
uncertain
he → inform → minutes
That train then safely arrived at Poland's border station in Dorohusk.
asserted
train → arrive → Dorohusk
Some reports have suggested Bildt was on the same train as Johnson, but the former UK prime minister has not confirmed any details.
uncertain
minister → suggest → details
Johnson wrote on X: "I don't know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning.
asserted
logic → write → border
He said this was "the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day - even on civilian railways" and urged Kyiv's allies to urgently provide Ukrainians "the air defences they need".
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they → say → defences
Ukraine has made repeated pleas to its allies - particularly the US - to provide more interceptors to defend against daily Russian attacks that increasingly use fast-moving ballistic missiles and jet-propelled drones.
asserted
that → make → missiles
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the "barbaric strikes" at the Ukraine-Poland border in Yahodyn amounted to "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's terror 'knocking' directly on the doors of the EU and Nato" and renewed calls for more sanctions on Moscow.
asserted
strikes → say → Moscow
"Putin needs to understand that his barbarism will be met with decisive action that increases the cost of war for him to an unacceptable level.
asserted
that → need → level
This is the only way to stop him," he said.
asserted
he → stop → him
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting to discuss the latest developments.
asserted
Tusk → hold → developments
"The escalation of the actions from the Russian side is becoming a reality, and they are getting closer and closer to our border."
asserted
they → become → border
The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has accused Russia of attempting to scare Western countries with the attack.
"
asserted
chief → accuse → attack
I think we should act the opposite.
asserted
we → think → ?
We should show that we are there for Ukraine and we are not scared," she told reporters in Finland during a summit on Arctic strategy.
asserted
she → show → strategy
Johnson and other top European security advisers were on their way back from the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference in Kyiv - an annual event that brings together leaders and experts from politics, business, security and mass media.
asserted
that → bring → politics
Russia appears to be escalating its war against Ukraine by targeting trains, railway depots, petrol stations and border crossings.
asserted
Russia → appear → trains
Earlier this week, two people were killed when Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
asserted
Zelensky → kill → Ukraine
Also this week, a female conductor died in a Russian drone attack on a passenger train in southern Ukraine.
asserted
conductor → die → Ukraine
Six Ukrzaliznytsia employees were killed after a depot was struck in Kyiv at the start of the month.
asserted
depot → kill → month
In January, Zelensky condemned as "terrorism" a Russian strike on a crowded passenger train in the north-eastern Kharkiv region that left five people dead.
asserted
that → condemn → people
The Russian attacks have significantly damaged Ukraine's vast train network - the main mode of transportation for millions of Ukrainians as all air travel has been suspended since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
asserted
travel → damage → 2022
European countries are also blaming Russia for suspicious incidents on their territory.
asserted
countries → blame → territory
Last week, Germany said Russia was responsible for August's drone attack at Leipzig's airport - a claim denied by Moscow as "absurd".
There have also been a number of suspicious fires at defence facilities from Italy to Estonia, with some of the affected countries blaming Russia.
uncertain
some → say → Russia
Russian authorities have also accused Ukraine of targeting trains and busses in recent months.
asserted
authorities → accuse → months
Last year, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said it targeted a railway bridge in Crimea following an operation lasting "several months".
asserted
it → say → operation
The Crimea bridge - also known as Kerch Bridge - was built by Russia after it invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
asserted
it → know → 2014
It was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to great fanfare in 2018.
asserted
It → inaugurate → 2018
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