Former US CIA director David Petraeus was at a Ukrainian train station at the very moment a Russian drone struck a passenger train on Sunday, shortly after a diplomatic train carrying former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other foreign dignitaries had passed through.
Kyiv framed the attack as evidence of the increased threat Russia’s Vladimir Putin poses to Europe, with Ukraine’s rail operator saying it was “quite likely” a targeted attack.
The diplomatic train carrying Johnson, European security officials and other former leaders from Kyiv to Poland had made an early departure from Yahodyn station –– about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Polish border –– due to the “constant threat of Russian strikes,” said Ukrainian Railways. It had already crossed into Poland by the time of the attack.
Petraeus was traveling on a separate train which was still at Yahodyn station, a Ukrainian Railways statement said. CNN has reached out to Petraeus for comment.
The rail operator said that while it was still clarifying details, it is “quite likely” that the Russian drone could have deliberately targeted the officials’ train.
Russian drones also targeted a gas station in the same town on Sunday.
“This is Putin’s terror ‘knocking’ directly on the doors of the EU and NATO,” said Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, in a message condemning to Russian attacks on the Yahodyn border crossing point.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces were targeting “railway infrastructure facilities in western Ukraine that are used to transport military cargoes from European countries,” according to state news agency TASS.
Johnson, the former British leader who has continued to be a vocal advocate Ukraine, condemned the Russian attack, saying he didn’t know “what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive,” in a post to X.
“What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day – even on civilian railways.”
The former prime minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, was also on a train near the Polish border at the time.
“This wasn’t our train, but the one just minutes after us by the Polish border crossing,” Bildt wrote on X alongside a video appearing to show a drone hitting a nearby train as throngs of passengers evacuate.
Petraeus and the European officials had been attending an international security conference in Kyiv known as the Yalta European Strategy (YES).
Russia escalates attacks near Polish border
Russia has stepped up its attacks near the Polish border in recent weeks, including in Yahodyn, which is a major pathway for Western military and humanitarian aid into Ukraine. Earlier Sunday, Russia struck a gas station in the border town, briefly shutting the crossing.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, speaking in Kyiv on Sunday, warned of the wider implications of Russian attacks close to Poland’s border.
“This is an escalation. It is another major challenge for Ukraine, but also for the potential future victims of Russian aggression,” Sikorski said.
Late Sunday night, British Defense Minister Wes Streeting said Russian attacks near the border, including on the gas facility, served as a “stark reminder” of what Ukrainians face everyday.
“Reckless, dangerous attacks on civilian infrastructure so close to Poland also underline the wider security threat Russia poses,” he said, adding the UK would continue to work with allies to bolster European security.
The train attack comes less than one week after a Russian drone entered Moldovan airspace as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was about to take off from an airport in the country’s capital. Moldova is not a NATO state but has a longstanding partnership with the North Atlantic military alliance.
By CNN
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