Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, has described an explosion along a section of railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine as an 'unprecedented act of sabotage' that could have led to disaster. Speaking after visiting the scene near the village of Mika, 60 miles from Warsaw, Tusk said the attack was 'an attempt to destabilise and destroy railway infrastructure'. There were no casualties, but the consequences could have been catastrophic if a train travelling at full speed had derailed.
Prosecutors have opened an investigation 'regarding acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature […] committed on behalf of a foreign intelligence service against the Republic of Poland'. The damaged track was spotted by a train driver on Sunday morning, who managed to make an emergency stop. Police said someone had reported hearing an explosion late on Saturday evening, but initial checks found nothing.
A second incident near Puławy on Sunday evening forced a train carrying 475 passengers to stop after damage to overhead power lines. A metal brace was found on the tracks, and windows in one carriage were broken. No one was injured. Polish authorities believe the attacks are part of a campaign by Russian security services to sow chaos over support for Ukraine.
Tusk vowed to 'catch the perpetrators, regardless of who their backers are'. The government's national security committee was due to meet on Tuesday, and the defence minister said the army would inspect the remaining track between the incident site and the Ukrainian border. Security services minister Tomasz Siemoniak said the probability of foreign intelligence involvement was 'very high'.
