Russian drone strikes hit train and border sites as European diplomats evacuated near Poland

Diplomatic train halted near Polish border

A special chartered train carrying European political figures and security officials stopped abruptly around 05:00 on Sunday, 13 September, approximately two kilometres from the Polish border. Passengers on board included former British prime minister Boris Johnson and Günter Sautter, the foreign and security policy adviser to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The delegation also included security advisers from Britain, France, and Italy, members of the German Bundestag such as Green Party lawmaker Robin Wagener, diplomats, and scholars. They were returning from Kyiv after participating in the Yalta European Strategy conference on Saturday, where they held discussions with Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government regarding potential peace negotiations. Train conductors woke passengers to execute a precautionary evacuation following alerts of hostile unmanned aerial vehicles operating in the border corridor. The security alert was lifted shortly after personnel confirmed no further incoming aerial targets, allowing the train to continue without casualties among the passengers.

Direct strike on passenger locomotive

At the same time, a regular passenger train travelling on the same rail line from Kyiv to Warsaw suffered a direct strike from a Russian drone. The unmanned vehicle hit the train's locomotive two kilometres from the Polish border, according to Ukrainian state rail operator Ukrzaliznycia. The regular passenger service was carrying 206 passengers, none of whom were Polish citizens, according to Polish carrier PKP Intercity. Crew members responded immediately to the impact, and no injuries were reported among passengers or staff. Former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, who travelled on the chartered diplomatic train just ahead of the affected service, described the positioning on social media platform X.

It was not our train, but the next one, located a few minutes behind us at the border crossing.

The passenger train was later transferred from Ukrainian authorities to PKP Intercity with a delay of approximately 370 minutes before completing its journey to Warsaw.

Infrastructure hits along the border zone

The railway strikes occurred alongside several other drone impacts in close proximity to the border between Ukraine and Poland. Polish air surveillance systems detected approximately a dozen jet-powered Geran-5 drones operating over western Ukraine during the early morning hours. Interior ministry spokesperson Karolina Gałecka reported that one drone struck a petrol station in the Ukrainian settlement of Yahodyn, setting two lorries on fire. Dariusz Sienicki, spokesman for the Nadbużański Border Guard Unit, noted that an impact occurred roughly 800 metres from the Dorohusk-Yahodyn border crossing. Ukrainian border guard spokesman Andriy Demchenko clarified that the border facility itself did not sustain a direct hit. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the situation during a security briefing, stating that strikes hit the vicinity of a petrol station about two kilometres from the border as well as a freight train on a nearby rail siding.

Scope of the overnight Russian drone assault

The border incidents were part of a wider aerial operation across Ukrainian territory on the night of 12 to 13 September. The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that Russian forces launched approximately 450 drones targeting multiple administrative regions, including western oblasts adjacent to Poland. Official casualty reports from Ukrainian authorities confirmed at least three deaths and 36 injuries nationwide resulting from the overnight barrages. Polish monitoring units recorded drone impacts as close as one kilometre and five kilometres from Poland's territorial boundary. The targeted rail corridor serves as the primary ground transit route connecting Ukrainian governmental hubs with European Union territory.