Poland sends forces to probe Ukraine rail link blown up in ‘sabotage’

WARSAW, Poland — A blast that destroyed a train track in a village south of the country’s capital Warsaw was an act of sabotage, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Nov. 17, one day after the resulting damage was detected on the rail link used to connect Poland with Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, the worst suspicions were confirmed. An act of sabotage occurred on the Warsaw-Lublin line (in the village of Mika). An explosive device detonated and destroyed the railway track,” Tusk said in a post on social media platform X.

The prime minister called the act “an unprecedented act of sabotage” aimed at the Polish state.

“This route is also crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine. We will catch the perpetrators, whoever they are,” Tusk added.

The blast did not inflict any casualties. Mika is located around 100km (62 miles) from Warsaw.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, has announced his ministry has deployed military services to assist in the investigation and check other segments of the Warsaw-Lublin rail track.

“The military will check a section of around 120 km (along the rail track) which runs to the [Polish-Ukrainian] border in Hrubieszów,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said in an X post.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has positioned itself as one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies, triggering backlash from Russia.

Warsaw has delivered large volumes of weapons and gear to Kyiv, operating a major logistics hub out of the south-eastern city of Rzeszów.

Russia and its ally Belarus have both deployed additional forces and weapons along their borders with Poland.

Numerous European countries, including Poland, have since been targeted by hybrid warfare techniques that include acts of sabotage, cyberattacks, espionage and arson. The continent’s security services believe these are largely inspired by Moscow.

Alongside its efforts to supply weapons to the Ukrainian military, Poland has also pushed for Ukraine’s future accession to NATO.

However, over the past months, Polish authorities have conceded the lack of political momentum in Washington and some European capitals means Ukraine will not receive an invitation to join the alliance anytime soon.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克11月17日表示，首都华沙南部一个村庄发生的爆炸摧毁了一条铁轨，这是一起蓄意破坏行为。此前一天，连接波兰和乌克兰的铁路线遭到破坏。

“不幸的是，最糟糕的怀疑得到了证实。华沙-卢布林铁路线（米卡村）发生了一起破坏事件。一枚爆炸装置引爆，摧毁了铁轨，”图斯克在社交媒体平台X上发帖说。

总理称这一行为是针对波兰国家的“前所未有的破坏行为”。

“这条路线对于向乌克兰运送援助物资也至关重要。无论肇事者是谁，我们都会将他们绳之以法。”图斯克补充道。

爆炸未造成人员伤亡。米卡位于华沙以西约100公里（62英里）处。

波兰副总理兼国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什宣布，他的部门已部署军队协助调查并检查华沙-卢布林铁路的其他路段。

科西尼亚克-卡米什在 X 论坛上发帖称：“军方将检查一段长约 120 公里的铁路线，该铁路线一直延伸到赫鲁别舒夫的波兰-乌克兰边境。”

自俄罗斯于 2022 年 2 月入侵乌克兰以来，波兰一直将自己定位为基辅最坚定的盟友之一，这引发了俄罗斯的强烈反弹。

华沙向基辅运送了大量的武器装备，并在东南部城市热舒夫运营着一个主要的物流中心。

俄罗斯及其盟友白俄罗斯都在与波兰接壤的边境地区增派了兵力和武器。

包括波兰在内的众多欧洲国家此后都成为了混合战争手段的目标，这些手段包括破坏、网络攻击、间谍活动和纵火。欧洲各国的安全部门认为，这些行动很大程度上受到了莫斯科的唆使。

除了努力向乌克兰军队提供武器外，波兰还推动乌克兰未来加入北约。

然而，在过去的几个月里，波兰当局承认，由于华盛顿和一些欧洲国家的首都缺乏政治动力，乌克兰近期内不会收到加入该联盟的邀请。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。