Poland blames Russia after rail track used to transport aid to Ukraine is destroyed by ‘act of sabotage’

CNN Polish leaders have pointed the finger at Russia after a key train track was destroyed in what Warsaw mentioned was an unprecedented act of sabotage committed by two Ukrainian citizens who were collaborating with Russian services Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated Tuesday that the two perpetrators who have since fled to Belarus were identified by the country s measure services following intensive work Tusk declared on Monday that the train track between the Polish cities of Warsaw and Lublin was destroyed after an explosive device blew it up We are certain that the attempt to blow up the tracks and the violation of railway infrastructure were intentional and aimed at causing a catastrophe in rail traffic the Polish leader disclosed in the Sejm Poland s parliamentary lower house The established perpetrators are two Ukrainian citizens who have been collaborating with Russian services for specific time Their identities are known he added Tusk disclosed earlier that the rail was crucially critical for delivering aid to Ukraine and that the attack directly targeted the defense of the Polish state and its civilians Destruction was also identified along the same course further down the railway line he commented on Monday At a press conference Monday afternoon Poland s interior minister Marcin Kierwi ski noted that two separate incidents took place over the weekend one established act of sabotage and one that was deemed highly probable to be sabotage No arrests have been made so far in relation to the incidents Ursula von der Leyen the president of the EU Commission noted that threats to Europe s safeguard are real and growing The continent must urgently boost threshold to protect our skies and our infrastructure she mentioned Estonia s Prime Minister Kristen Michal strongly condemned the damage to the train track writing on X that his country stands with Poland Those behind hostile acts against European Union and NATO members must be exposed Our response must be united Michal reported Ukraine s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also offered his country s solidarity with Poland offering patronage if needed Sybiha suggested on Monday that Russia could have played a part in the episode The Ukrainian governing body has not commented on the revelation that the two subjects were Ukrainian nationals Several European countries including the United Kingdom and Germany have previously arrested charged and in chosen cases convicted Ukrainian nationals for Russian-ordered attacks We hope study will provide answers and we also stand ready to assist if called upon Sybiha announced Could have been another hybrid attack by Russia to test responses If true they need to be strong Tusk vowed that his country will catch the perpetrators whoever they are without saying who he inferred was responsible for the damage String of suspected Russian attacks The explosion which did not cause any injuries according to Tusk is the latest in a string of incidents in Europe that have left the continent on high alert Several European nations have announced incursions into their airspace in latest months with greater part pointing the finger at Russia The Kremlin has denied involvement Earlier this month the European Commission adopted stricter rules on issuing visas to Russian nationals citing safety risks related to Russia s war on Ukraine as the reason for doing this We now face unprecedented drone disruptions and sabotage on our soil We have a duty to protect our citizens Kaja Kallas the EU s foreign approach chief mentioned in a announcement A research paper by the International Institute for Strategic Studies IISS suggested that Russia is carrying out a campaign of sabotage vandalism espionage and covert action to destabilize European governments Incidents within this alleged campaign include the deliberate damaging of undersea cables the targeting of telecommunications towers and arson plots IISS reported In an interview with the outlet Polsat News on Sunday Poland s Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk declared that his country has been confronted with varying acts of sabotage for various time according to the Polish Press Agency PAP Last year an enormous fire destroyed a shopping center in Warsaw Polish bureaucrats communicated in May that this was the development of arson ordered by Russian intelligence services though Russia had previously denied accusations of orchestrating arson and sabotage operations across Europe While someone must have damaged the train track Duszczyk reported he also warned against promptly assigning the blame to Russia PAP informed Russia is not so powerful that every arson every situation of this type is provoked by Russia However this cannot be ruled out or underestimated in any way he reported according to PAP The country s Internal Assurance Agency is working alongside police the prosecutor s office and railway services to investigate the matter Polish politician Tomasz Siemoniak commented on X Poland s National Shield Committee will hold a meeting on Tuesday morning with military commanders heads of services and the president s representative in attendance Tusk commented