Russian drone attack on station likely aimed for Boris Johnson’s train, Ukraine says
Train carrying ex-British PM and other top diplomats intentionally left west Ukraine station ahead of schedule; former CIA chief Petraeus was on train at station when drone hit
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A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine- Poland border on Sunday shortly after senior visiting officials — including the former prime ministers of the UK and Sweden — passed through, Ukraine’s state rail operator said.
According to Ukrzaliznytsia, a diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, Carl Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had purposely left the station at Yahodyn ahead of schedule. The visitors were on their way back from a security conference in Kyiv.
“It is highly probable that the Russian drone’s intended target was in fact the diplomatic train, which had departed the station earlier than scheduled,” the company said in a Telegram post.
Bildt, the former Swedish PM, shared a video on X of the attack at Yahodyn station, near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing with Poland.
“This wasn’t our train, but the one just minutes after us by the Polish border crossing,” Bildt said. “It was evacuated as the Russian drone approached and no one was hurt. Very good safety system. Our train just had an evacuation warning.”
Bildt, Johnson and fellow passengers had been in Kyiv for the Yalta European Strategy conference, an annual gathering of leaders and experts across politics, business, security and media.
This wasn’t our train, but the one just minutes after us by the ???????? border crossing. It was evacuated as the ???????? drone approached and no one was hurt. Very good safety system. Our train just had an evacuation warning but could proceed to Dorohusk. The ???????? attacks against ???????? are…
— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) September 13, 2026
Another train, with former CIA Director David Petraeus on board, was still at the station when the drone struck, according to Ukrzaliznytsia.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on any of the trains.
Ukrzaliznytsia said it “constantly adjusts train schedules” to guard against strikes.
“I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning,” Johnson wrote in a post on X.
“What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day — even on civilian railways,” he added.
I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning. What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day – even on civilian railways. So far Putin…
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) September 13, 2026
Earlier on Sunday, a Russian drone hit a truck less than a mile from Polish territory, according to border guards, forcing the temporary closure of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had targeted infrastructure facilitating military cargoes from Europe in Western Ukraine.
With the front line largely static, both Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-distance strikes in recent weeks to try to shift momentum in the war.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski described Russia’s increasing attacks on NATO’s doorstep as “an escalation.”
Russia has begun targeting Ukraine’s border crossings with its Western allies in recent weeks, part of a growing campaign by both sides to erode the other’s economic infrastructure more than four years into Russia’s invasion.
The Times of Israel Community.