After a Russian drone strike on a train bound for Warsaw, the Ukrainian railway company warned on Sunday September 13 that a “systemic attack” was now targeting the country’s railways.
“A systemic attack on rail is underway across the country. Our monitoring center and employees are on high alert,” Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company said.
She indicated significant delays and asked users to prepare for possible evacuations, a procedure already common as Moscow regularly targets infrastructure and rail transport in its drone and missile strikes.
Also readWar in Ukraine: Zelensky urges Trump to adopt ‘tough’ sanctions against Russia
A Russian drone notably struck a train bound for Warsaw near the Polish border in Ukraine on Sunday, without causing any casualties, Warsaw and kyiv announced.
A “deliberate” strike according to kyiv
Ukraine said the strike took place two kilometers from the border with NATO member Poland and hit the passenger train’s locomotive.
Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Moscow had “deliberately” hit the train. Poland also said another drone struck near a border crossing.
Also readUkraine: for Amnesty, Moscow’s recruitment of foreign fighters amounts to “human trafficking”
Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow had targeted Ukraine’s railway and energy infrastructure as well as “civilian buildings”, particularly in the west of the country. “All necessary services are working near the Polish-Ukrainian border, in the Volhynia region, where the Russians deliberately set fire to a locomotive and damaged a gas station during a drone strike,” said the Ukrainian head of state.
Polish railway company PKP Intercity said the train was connecting kyiv with Warsaw and was carrying 206 passengers. Neither country reported casualties and Intercity said the train was more than six hours late, but would continue its journey to Warsaw after customs formalities at the border.
Also readWar in Ukraine: the relic of a medieval prince, Moscow’s new weapon?
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said one of the drones launched by Moscow struck near the Dorohusk-Yagodyn border crossing, while the other hit the passenger train. “We treat these events with the utmost seriousness. The situation is constantly monitored,” said Marcin Kierwinski.
The strikes came just a week after US envoys visited Moscow and kyiv, as part of efforts to revive Washington-led negotiations to end the conflict.
With AFP
