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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said two Ukrainian citizens who have long worked for Russian intelligence services have been identified as suspects in two acts of sabotage on Poland’s railway network.
Tusk told Poland’s parliament that one of the suspects had been convicted in absentia for sabotage in Ukraine.
On Monday, he visited the site of an explosion near Mika, southeast of Warsaw, which damaged a railway line to the Ukrainian border over the weekend in what he called an “unprecedented act of sabotage.”
Another incident near Prawi on Monday forced a crowded train to come to an abrupt halt and revealed damage to overhead cables.
Polish authorities initially said two acts of sabotage on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line were likely ordered by the “foreign ministry.”
“Everything points to them being Russian agents,” a spokesman for Poland’s secret service minister said on Tuesday.
Russia has yet to comment publicly on the accusations.
“Our goal is to cause a rail disaster,” Tusk told lawmakers.
Poland’s prime minister said he would not reveal the names of the two suspects because it could complicate the operation, but told parliament one of them lived in Belarus and the other in eastern Ukraine.
He added that both suspects entered Poland from Belarus in the autumn and were now returning to Poland via the Trespol crossing in southwestern Belarus, close to the Ukrainian border.
Tusk said a military-grade C4 explosive device detonated near the village of Mika at around 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on November 15.
The explosion occurred as a freight train passed by, causing minor damage to the carriage floor. It was captured on CCTV.
Tusk said the train driver didn’t even notice the incident.
He said previous attempts to derail trains by placing steel clamps on the tracks failed.
Tusk said the second act of sabotage occurred on November 17 when a train carrying 475 passengers braked suddenly due to damage to railway infrastructure.
The Prime Minister also said he would issue an order later on Tuesday to raise the alert level on some rail lines.
He said 55 people had been detained since the beginning of last year on suspicion of assisting, preparing or committing acts of sabotage, and 23 of them had been remanded in custody.
Tusk went on to say that Russia’s motive was to spread fear and stoke anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Polish society, which is home to more than one million Ukrainian war refugees.
“I want to emphasize that the Russian authorities are concerned not only with the direct impact of such actions, but also with the ongoing social and political consequences of such actions,” he said.
“This of course means disorganization, chaos, panic, speculation and uncertainty.”
Poland is a member of NATO and the European Union, and its rail network has been crucial for delivering aid to Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
September, Tusk says three Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace by Polish and other NATO aircraft In a nighttime attack on Ukraine.
He said at the time that authorities had documented 19 drone intrusions, some flying deep enough to temporarily close four airports, including Warsaw’s main hub, Chopin Airport.
The Russian Defense Ministry responded by saying that there were “no plans” to target facilities in Poland.
