Kathmandu, September 14 — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several senior European security officials narrowly avoided a Russian drone attack on a Ukrainian railway near the Ukraine–Poland border.
The attack took place in the Yahodyn area shortly after the train carrying the officials had passed through the route. A Russian drone struck another Ukrainian train, damaging its locomotive, but no casualties were reported.
According to Ukrainian officials, passengers on the targeted train had been evacuated to safety shortly before the attack.
Johnson, along with Jonathan Powell, the British prime minister’s national security adviser, and other European security officials, had been returning from a conference in Kyiv. They were travelling on a different train along the same railway route.
Russia said the strike targeted railway infrastructure in western Ukraine. However, Ukraine’s state railway company said the intended target may have been a diplomatic train.
The railway company said changes had been made to the schedule of the diplomatic train because of security concerns, allowing it to leave the station earlier than originally planned. Passengers on the affected train were reportedly ordered to leave approximately 15 minutes before the drone strike.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus was also reportedly travelling on another train at Yahodyn station when the attack occurred. Ukrainian and Polish officials said the drone strike happened about two kilometres from the Polish border.
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, who attended the Kyiv conference, said his train was also stopped following the incident. Passengers were initially instructed to prepare for a possible evacuation, but a few minutes later they were informed that the situation was under control and that the journey could continue.
Johnson later condemned the Russian attack in a post on social media platform X, questioning the rationale behind the strike. He also urged Ukraine’s international partners to urgently provide additional air-defence systems to protect the country from Russian attacks.
Ukraine has repeatedly called on its allies, particularly the United States, to provide more interceptor systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones.
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