Security scare for Ex-CIA boss and former British PM as Russia strikes Ukrainian train

Former US CIA director David Petraeus was at a Ukrainian train station at the very moment a Russian drone struck a passenger train on Sunday, shortly after a diplomatic train carrying former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other foreign dignitaries had passed through.

Kyiv framed the attack as evidence of the increased threat Russia’s Vladimir Putin poses to Europe, with Ukraine’s rail operator saying it was “quite likely” a targeted attack.

The diplomatic train carrying Johnson, European security officials and other former leaders from Kyiv to Poland had made an early departure from the station –– about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Polish border –– due to the “constant threat of Russian strikes,” said Ukrainian Railways.

Petraeus was traveling on a separate train which was still at the station at the time of the attack, a Ukrainian Railways statement said. CNN has reached out to Petraeus for comment.

The rail operator said that while it was still clarifying details, it is “quite likely” that the Russian drone could have deliberately targeted the officials’ train.

Russian drones also targeted a gas station in the same town on Sunday.

“This is Putin’s terror ‘knocking’ directly on the doors of the EU and NATO,” said Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, in a message condemning to Russian attacks on the Yahodyn border crossing point.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces were targeting “railway infrastructure facilities in western Ukraine that are used to transport military cargoes from European countries,” according to state news agency TASS.

Johnson, the former British leader who has continued to be a vocal advocate Ukraine, condemned the Russian attack, saying he didn’t know “what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive,” in a post to X.

“What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day – even on civilian railways.”

The former prime minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, was also on a train near the Polish border at the time.

“This wasn’t our train, but the one just minutes after us by the Polish border crossing,” Bildt wrote on X alongside a video appearing to show a drone hitting a nearby train as throngs of passengers evacuate.

Petraeus and the European officials had been attending an international security conference in Kyiv known as the Yalta European Strategy (YES).

Russia has stepped up its attacks near the Polish border in recent weeks, including in Yahodyn, which is a major pathway for Western military and humanitarian aid into Ukraine. Earlier Sunday, Russia struck a gas station in the border town, briefly shutting the crossing.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, speaking in Kyiv on Sunday, warned of the wider implications of Russian attacks close to Poland’s border.

“This is an escalation. It is another major challenge for Ukraine, but also for the potential future victims of Russian aggression,” Sikorski said.

Late Sunday night, British Defense Minister Wes Streeting said Russian attacks near the border, including on the gas facility, served as a “stark reminder” of what Ukrainians face everyday.

“Reckless, dangerous attacks on civilian infrastructure so close to Poland also underline the wider security threat Russia poses,” he said, adding the UK would continue to work with allies to bolster European security.

The train attack comes less than one week after a Russian drone entered Moldovan airspace as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was about to take off from an airport in the country’s capital. Moldova is not a NATO state but has a longstanding partnership with the North Atlantic military alliance.

Victoria Butenko contributed reporting.

美国前中央情报局局长戴维·彼得雷乌斯周日亲历俄罗斯无人机袭击乌克兰一列客运列车的那一刻，当时他正在乌克兰的一个火车站。此前不久，一列载有英国前首相鲍里斯·约翰逊和其他外国政要的外交列车刚刚驶过该站。

基辅方面将此次袭击定性为俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京对欧洲构成日益增长的威胁的证据，乌克兰铁路运营商表示，这“很可能”是一起有针对性的袭击。

乌克兰铁路公司表示，由于“俄罗斯袭击的持续威胁”，载着约翰逊、欧洲安全官员和其他前领导人从基辅开往波兰的外交列车提前从车站出发——该车站距离波兰边境约两公里（1.2英里）。

乌克兰铁路公司在一份声明中表示，彼得雷乌斯当时乘坐的是另一列火车，袭击发生时该列车仍在车站。CNN已联系彼得雷乌斯寻求置评。

铁路运营商表示，虽然仍在核实细节，但俄罗斯无人机“极有可能”是故意以官员乘坐的列车为目标。

周日，俄罗斯无人机还袭击了同一城镇的一个加油站。

乌克兰外交部长安德烈·西比哈在一份谴责俄罗斯袭击亚霍登边境口岸的声明中表示：“这是普京的恐怖主义直接‘敲响’欧盟和北约的大门。”

据俄罗斯国家通讯社塔斯社报道，俄罗斯国防部表示，其部队的目标是“乌克兰西部用于从欧洲国家运输军事物资的铁路基础设施”。

约翰逊是英国前领导人，他一直积极支持乌克兰。他在一篇发给 X 的帖子中谴责了俄罗斯的袭击，称他不知道“是什么扭曲的逻辑驱使普京炸毁一辆停着的乌克兰火车”。

“我们可以肯定地说，乌克兰人每天都在遭受这种随机且毫无意义的袭击——即使是在民用铁路上。”

当时，瑞典前首相卡尔·比尔特也在波兰边境附近的一列火车上。

“这不是我们乘坐的火车，而是几分钟后经过波兰边境口岸的那列火车，”比尔特在X上写道，并附上了一段视频，视频似乎显示一架无人机撞上了附近的一列火车，当时大批乘客正在疏散。

彼得雷乌斯和欧洲官员当时正在基辅参加一个名为雅尔塔欧洲战略（YES）的国际安全会议。

近几周来，俄罗斯加大了对波兰边境附近地区的袭击力度，其中包括对亚霍登的袭击。亚霍登是西方军事和人道主义援助进入乌克兰的重要通道。周日早些时候，俄罗斯袭击了该边境小镇的一个加油站，导致过境点短暂关闭。

波兰外交部长拉多斯瓦夫·西科尔斯基周日在基辅发表讲话时警告说，俄罗斯在波兰边境附近发动的袭击会产生更广泛的影响。

“这是局势升级。这对乌克兰来说是又一个重大挑战，对未来可能遭受俄罗斯侵略的国家来说也是如此，”西科尔斯基说。

周日深夜，英国国防大臣韦斯·斯特里廷表示，俄罗斯在边境附近发动的袭击，包括对天然气设施的袭击，是对乌克兰人民每天面临的困境的“鲜明提醒”。

“对波兰附近民用基础设施发动如此鲁莽、危险的袭击，也凸显了俄罗斯构成的更广泛的安全威胁，”他说道，并补充说英国将继续与盟友合作，加强欧洲安全。

此次火车袭击事件发生不到一周前，一架俄罗斯无人机闯入摩尔多瓦领空，当时乌克兰总统泽连斯基正准备从该国首都的机场起飞。摩尔多瓦并非北约成员国，但与北大西洋军事联盟有着长期的伙伴关系。

Victoria Butenko对此报道亦有贡献。