Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday that the damage caused by an explosion on a Polish railway line over the weekend was an “act of sabotage”.
No injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred on the rail line between the eastern city of Lublin and the capital Warsaw.
The line connects Warsaw to Poland’s border with Ukraine.
What did Tusk say about the explosion?
Tusk described the explosion as “unprecedented”.
“Blowing up the rail tracks on the Warsaw-Lublin route is an unprecedented act of sabotage directly targeting the security of the Polish state and its citizens,” Tusk said in a post on Platform X.
He said, “This route is also extremely important for the delivery of aid to Ukraine. We will catch the criminals, whoever they are.”
In a video address, Tusk stressed that the legal implications of the incident are “very serious”.
Poland has been serving as a major hub for Western states to provide military and other aid to Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.
It borders Ukraine and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, as well as both Moscow and Belarus.
Warsaw is one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters within the EU, and Polish authorities have reported incidents of sabotage with suspects allegedly linked to Russia.
Government minister says confirmation of sabotage
At a press conference, four government ministers stressed that a definite incident of sabotage had occurred, as well as a “highly probable” incident of sabotage.
“An explosive device was detonated, causing damage to the railway track. Experts have confirmed this without any doubt,” Interior Minister Marcin Kerwiński said.
He said a significant amount of evidence has been collected at the blast site and the culprits are likely to be identified soon.
Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamycz said Polish forces were inspecting a 120 km (74.6 mi) track leading to the Ukrainian border.
According to Minister of Special Services Tomasz Simoniak, there is a high probability that the criminals were acting on orders of foreign intelligence services.
Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said the damaged Lublin-Warsaw route is used by 115 trains a day.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn