Ukrainian citizens detained for reailway sabotage in Poland – PM Tusk
The suspects in the sabotage on the railway line in Poland, which leads to Ukraine, are two Ukrainian citizens who have long collaborated with Russian intelligence, lived in Belarus and entered Poland through the Terespol border crossing in the fall of this year, and one of them was convicted in Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
"The identified individuals are two Ukrainian citizens who have long collaborated with Russian intelligence," Gazeta Wyborcza quotes Tusk as saying.
The head of the Polish government stressed that their identities have been established, but he cannot reveal them publicly, as this may hinder the ongoing investigation. He said that one of them was convicted in Lviv for acts of sabotage, and the other was a resident of Donbas.
"In both cases, we are certain that the attempt to blow up the tracks and disrupt the track infrastructure was deliberate and had perpetrators. Their goal was to cause a train accident," he said.
Tusk said that one attempt involved setting up a clamp designed to derail the train. "Fortunately, this attempt failed," the prime minister said.
The second attempt took place on November 15. "A military-type C4 explosive device was detonated using an initiative device, through a 300-meter electrical cable. The device exploded on the Warsaw-Pulawi line, but the freight train did not derail, but only damaged the floor of the carriage. The driver did not even notice the incident, passing through the area," Tusk said.
He said that the incident was reported by a resident who heard the explosion, but police checked her apartment and found nothing. "On Sunday at 7:40 am, another train passing by stopped due to the threat of derailment, but thanks to the quick reaction of the driver, the tragedy was averted," the prime minister said.
He noted that measures to identify the perpetrators and their accomplices are still underway.
"We are dealing with an unprecedented event. Do not be surprised that people are reacting so emotionally to this. This is probably the most serious situation of this kind from the point of view of national security since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine," Tusk stressed.
He reported that 55 people have already been detained, convicted, among other things, of aiding and abetting acts of sabotage. All of them collaborated with Russian intelligence. "The attackers' mistake helped us, but we could have dealt with victims," Tusk said.
The head of the Polish government will soon appear before the Sejm and in his speech will raise the issue of two acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature committed on behalf of foreign intelligence - in the cities of Mika and Golomb on the Warsaw-Lublin line. In the city of Mika, an explosive device destroyed the railway track, which, according to the investigation, was intended to blow up a train, and near Golomb, a train carrying 475 passengers was forced to suddenly brake due to damage to the railway track.
As reported, a section of the track on the Dęblin-Warsaw line was damaged in Poland, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk did not rule out sabotage. According to the head of the Polish government, no one was injured, and the relevant services are conducting an investigation.
Ukraine has offered assistance in conducting the investigation.
The press service of the Polish prosecutor's office reported that law enforcement officers have launched an investigation into acts of sabotage on Polish railways, classifying them as acts of a terrorist nature, directed against railway infrastructure and committed for the benefit of foreign intelligence.
