A Russian drone struck the locomotive of a passenger train at Yahodyn station near the Polish border — just minutes after a diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson and other European officials had passed through.
On the morning of September 13, a Russian strike drone hit the locomotive of a Kyiv–Warsaw passenger train at Yahodyn station, near the border crossing with Poland. According to Ukraine's state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia, a diplomatic train had left the station only minutes earlier, carrying former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, and security advisers from several EU countries who were returning from the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv. Volunteers Support Ukraine strongly condemns this attack, which could have cost the lives of civilians and senior officials alike.
Dispatchers from Ukrzaliznytsia's Central Monitoring Group detected the incoming drone and issued an evacuation signal roughly 15 minutes before impact. Passengers and rail staff were evacuated from the locomotive in time, so no casualties were recorded on either train. However, another train — carrying former CIA Director David Petraeus — was still at Yahodyn station when the drone struck. Ukrzaliznytsia said it was "quite likely" that the diplomatic train itself had been the intended target.
The strike left the locomotive badly damaged, with torn panelling, scorched equipment and debris scattered along the tracks. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the available reporting strongly supports the conclusion that the Kremlin conducted a precision drone strike intended to injure or kill European officials as they were leaving Ukraine. Former Swedish PM Carl Bildt told the BBC that passengers on his train were told to prepare for evacuation before being allowed to continue their journey. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes this attack is further proof of how cynically Russia treats civilian safety, regardless of who is on board.
In Kyiv, shortly before the attack, Johnson had posed for a photo with the conductors of the train that carried him toward the border. The incident drew widespread coverage from international outlets, from CNN and the BBC to NPR and Reuters, and was widely read as evidence of the growing threat Vladimir Putin poses to Europe as a whole. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes this kind of global media attention helps the world better understand what Ukrainians face every day.
Yahodyn station sits just a few kilometers from the Yahodyn international checkpoint, one of the key border crossings between Ukraine and Poland used by thousands of people every day, and through which a large share of humanitarian and military aid passes. Volunteers Support Ukraine helps people affected by the war every day, in whatever way its available resources allow, and hopes attacks like this will not discourage Ukraine's partners from continuing their support.
Ukrzaliznytsia continues to investigate the incident; Russia has so far not officially responded to the allegation of a targeted attack.
