In Poland, unknown perpetrators damaged railway tracks on the line between Warsaw and Dęblin, authorities said. A derailment was avoided after a train driver spotted the damaged section near Życzyn and alerted dispatchers in time, allowing passengers and several crew members to be evacuated. The Warsaw–Lublin line connects onward to Ukraine. Prime Minister Donald Tusk linked the incident to the war, calling it “an unprecedented act of sabotage, directly targeting the security of the Polish state and its civilians”. He added that the route is vital for delivering aid to Ukraine. “We will catch the perpetrators, whoever they are,” he said.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the sabotage took place in two locations along the same route. In the town of Mika, experts have confirmed that an explosive device was used.
“Without any doubt, we can say that an explosive device went off and damaged the railway track,” Kierwiński said. The Polish prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into what it describes as acts of sabotage with a terrorist character, treating them as operations carried out in the interests of a foreign intelligence service.
Polish media reported that a discharged mobile phone was found on the tracks. RMF FM journalist Krzysztof Zasada said unofficially that authorities have already identified the buyer of the SIM cards that were allegedly intended to trigger the explosives remotely. Gazeta.pl noted that the cards, issued by a Polish operator, were registered using foreign passports, although it remains unclear whether the passport holder is the suspected saboteur.
Separately, Gazeta Wyborcza, citing a source familiar with the investigation, said the explosive devices were fitted with detonators connected to an electrical wire stretching several hundred metres, with an electric trigger at the other end. “This suggests the saboteurs were on site — they did not use a timer or remote radio detonation. Our source believes they were waiting for the train to derail, which they likely intended to film,” the newspaper said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Russia may have been involved in the sabotage on the Polish railway. “We hope the investigation will provide answers, and we are ready to help if asked. This could have been another hybrid attack by Russia — a way to test the reaction. If that is the case, the response must be strong,” he said.
Experts quoted by Polish media said the aim appeared to be primarily psychological. They said the explosives were intended to knock the train off the tracks rather than destroy it, in an effort to intimidate Poland and discourage it from continuing its support for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, government ministers have faced a barrage of questions over how the sabotage was possible and why the damaged track was not detected sooner. In a heated exchange, officials insisted the response had been swift and effective, describing criticism as “untrue and offensive,” according to the BBC.
In response, Poland’s Territorial Defence Forces will begin patrolling the country’s railway infrastructure. “Special attention will be given to critical elements of the infrastructure: bridges, viaducts, tunnels, stations and railway traffic-control systems,” Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Poland’s Territorial Defence Forces will deploy drones, and a helicopter has been assigned to support the operation. Train services have already resumed on the line damaged in the sabotage attack.
