News|Russia-Ukraine warPoland blames two Ukrainians allegedly working for Russia for railway blastPolish prime minister says the two suspects are believed to have left Polish territory for Belarus after the attack.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says two Ukrainian citizens allegedly working for Russia are suspected of blowing up part of a railway line near Warsaw over the weekend.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says two Ukrainian citizens allegedly working for Russia are suspected of blowing up part of a railway line near Warsaw over the weekend.
The two Ukrainians are accused of working on behalf of Russian intelligence to damage a railway line that was travelling to the border of Ukraine, Poland’s close ally, Tusk said on Tuesday.
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The pair “have been operating and cooperating with Russian services for a long time”, he added, citing information from prosecutors and investigating authorities.
On Saturday, an explosion damaged the tracks near the village of Mika, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Warsaw. The Warsaw-Lublin line connects the Polish capital to the Ukrainian border.
“The explosion was most likely intended to blow up the train,” Tusk said on Monday in reference to the Mika incident.
In a separate incident that authorities are investigating as sabotage, power lines were destroyed in the area of Pulawy, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Lublin. Trains carrying passengers were forced to stop at both locations.
Polish prosecutors have initiated an investigation into “acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature” directed against railway infrastructure and committed for the benefit of foreign intelligence.
On Saturday, an explosion damaged the tracks near the village of Mika, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Warsaw.
“These actions brought about an immediate danger of a land traffic disaster, threatening the lives and health of many people and property on a large scale,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Advertisement The damage caused at both locations has been repaired, and no injuries have been reported.
The incidents follow a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
One of the perpetrators is believed to be a Ukrainian citizen who in May was convicted for “acts of sabotage” by a court in Lviv, the prime minister said.
The other is a resident of Donbas, a Russian-occupied region in Ukraine, who along with the first suspect crossed into Poland from Belarus this autumn.
Shortly after the incidents, the two suspects are believed to have left Polish territory for Belarus.
In total, 55 individuals have been detained, and 23 arrested regarding acts of sabotage in Poland, said Tusk.
Shortly after Tusk’s comments, the Kremlin accused Polish authorities of “Russophobia”.
“Russia is accused of all manifestations of the hybrid and direct war that is taking place,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian state television reporter.
“In Poland, let’s say, everyone is trying to run ahead of the European locomotive in this regard. And Russophobia, of course, is flourishing there.”
In recent years, Poland has restricted the movement of Russian diplomats on its soil and ordered the closure of two Russian consulates.
Based on reporting by Al Jazeera.