Russian drones target Ukraine – Bildt’s train narrowly misses being hit

 

TT

 

Published 10:37 | Updated 19:13

 

Carl Bildt, Sweden’s former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister, was traveling on a train that was not far from the one struck by a drone. File photo. Photo: Stefan Jerrevång/TT

A passenger train bound for Warsaw was struck by a Russian drone in Ukraine. Carl Bildt was traveling on a train that was just minutes behind the one that was attacked.

The train hit by the drone was traveling from Kyiv with over 200 passengers on board when it was struck two kilometers from the border.

Another drone landed 800 meters from the Polish border, according to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. No injuries were reported in the attack.

Sweden’s former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Carl Bildt writes on X that he was traveling on a train running along the same route.

"It wasn't our train, but the train that arrived just a few minutes after us at the border crossing," he writes, explaining that his train received a warning about a potential evacuation but was able to continue to the border at Dorohusk.

"The attacks on Ukraine are intensifying," Bildt writes, though he also notes that his train had "a very good security system."

Boris also on board

The former Swedish Prime Minister was not the only high-ranking politician on board the train. According to the Ukrainian railway company Ukrzaliznytsia, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former CIA Director David Petraeus, and several former leaders of EU countries were also present.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia deliberately targeted the train and a gas station near the border. "It is precisely to prevent these attacks from spreading further into Europe that Ukrainian men and women are fighting every day, sacrificing their lives and stopping the aggression from expanding," he says, according to AFP.

Russia: Military transport

Russia claims in a statement that it has struck "railway infrastructure" in western Ukraine that is "used for military transport from Europe."

"This is Putin’s terror 'knocking on' the doors of the EU and NATO. Russian barbarians are at your doorstep, dear partners," writes Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on X.

Donald Tusk says, according to AFP, that the Russian attacks will intensify in the coming weeks and that "this escalation could affect Poland."

The border crossing at Dorohusk was temporarily closed but has now reopened. The attacks near the border were part of a larger Russian attack on Ukraine overnight.