An explosion on a railway line southeast of Warsaw, leading toward the Ukrainian border, has been denounced by Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk as an “unprecedented act of sabotage.” Visiting the site of the incident, Mr. Tusk stated that the damage to the tracks on Sunday was deliberate and likely intended to blow up the train, expressing relief that no casualties occurred. Following an emergency meeting in Warsaw, Poland’s special services minister indicated a “very high chance” the blast was orchestrated by “foreign services,” implicitly referencing Russia.

Poland views this incident as part of a series of major arson and sabotage attacks it has experienced in recent years, including parcel bombings, which it attributes to Moscow’s hybrid war against the West. The country’s railway network is strategically vital, serving as a critical artery for military supply lines to neighboring Ukraine, as well as an essential route for civilians traveling to and from the war-torn country. Investigators are also examining a second incident on the same line that day, where a crowded train was forced into an emergency stop, strongly suspected to be another act of sabotage, though without an explosion. Special Services Minister Tomasz Siemoniak warned that these events suggest those responsible have initiated “a new phase of threatening the railway infrastructure,” a claim Russia consistently denies.

The damage, located near Mika, approximately 100km (60 miles) southeast of Warsaw, was first detected around 07:30 local time on Sunday morning by a train driver who had to make an emergency stop. Photographs from the scene reportedly show an entire section of track missing. Despite the severity, only two passengers and several staff were aboard the train, and fortunately, no one was injured. On Monday, the interior minister confirmed that the use of explosives was “beyond any doubt,” without elaborating due to the ongoing investigation.

A local resident recounted hearing a blast the previous evening, describing how it “shook the whole building, the windows… it all trembled so much,” with the impact felt several kilometers away. He initially suspected a gas explosion or a falling drone. Although a police patrol investigated at the time, they found nothing unusual. As a result, several trains passed over the damaged section of track the following morning before the problem was reported, and authorities eventually closed the line. No suspects have been apprehended yet, but officials say police have gathered substantial evidence, including footage from nearby security cameras, to identify the perpetrators of this “shameful act of sabotage.”

The strong official condemnation of the incident comes amidst Poland’s ongoing investigation into other suspected hybrid attacks, such as parcel bombs sent from Lithuania last year. One of these exploded just outside Warsaw, another was intercepted, and a third detonated in a DHL warehouse in the UK. Several suspects, including a Russian man extradited from Bosnia, are currently in custody in Poland awaiting trial. Furthermore, there have been numerous cases involving individuals recruited via the Telegram messenger app, with Poland believing these accounts are managed by Russian intelligence. Two years prior, over a dozen people were convicted for installing secret cameras near Polish railway lines used for transporting weapons and equipment to Ukraine. However, this marks the first direct attack on the network itself.

While some experts quoted by Polish media suggest the primary goal of the attack was psychological, not to destroy the train but to derail it and intimidate Poland into ceasing its support for Ukraine, the Justice Minister vowed that anyone involved would be found and prosecuted “ruthlessly,” asserting there was “no place on earth they can hide.” Despite a public show of strength by government ministers and security officials, they faced intense scrutiny regarding how such sabotage was possible and why the track damage was not detected sooner. Officials, in a terse exchange, defended their response as swift and effective, dismissing criticism as “untrue and insulting.”