Poland summons Russian diplomat amid probe into railway sabotage

Poland has summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires in Warsaw, Andrei Ordash, the diplomat told RIA Novosti, without specifying the reason for the summons.

Earlier, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said investigators had identified the perpetrators of recent acts of sabotage on Poland’s railways. According to Tusk, the suspects are two Ukrainian citizens who allegedly cooperated with Russian intelligence services. They entered Poland from Belarus and later returned there after carrying out the attacks.

Polish media report that the attackers attempted to derail a train near Pulawy station and intended to film it using a smartphone. In another incident near the village of Mika, they used C-4 explosives, part of which failed to detonate and was recovered by investigators.

Tusk said the explosion occurred on 15 November at 20:58 as a freight train passed the area, causing minor damage to a wagon. The driver continued the journey unaware of the incident.

Calling the events “unprecedented,” Tusk described them as one of the most serious threats to Poland’s security since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Poland has deployed territorial defence forces to guard key stretches of critical railway infrastructure.