A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday, shortly after senior visiting officials including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt passed through the area, according to Ukraine’s state rail operator. No casualties were immediately reported on any of the trains.
Ukrzaliznytsia said a diplomatic train carrying Johnson, Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had deliberately departed Yahodyn station ahead of schedule. The passengers were returning from the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv, an annual gathering of leaders and experts from politics, business, security and media.
The rail operator said it was “highly probable” that the diplomatic train had been the drone’s intended target, but that assessment was not independently established. Another train carrying former CIA Director David Petraeus was still at Yahodyn station when the drone struck, according to Ukrzaliznytsia.
Bildt posted a video of the attack at Yahodyn station, near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing with Poland. He said the train that was hit had been traveling minutes behind his group’s train and was evacuated as the drone approached, while his train received an evacuation warning.
“This wasn’t our train, but the one just minutes after us by the Polish border crossing. It was evacuated as the Russian drone approached and no one was hurt. Very good safety system. Our train just had an evacuation warning.”
Ukrzaliznytsia said it continually adjusts train schedules to protect against strikes. Earlier Sunday, a Russian drone hit a truck less than a mile from Polish territory, according to border guards, prompting the temporary closure of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing.