Diplomatic Train Carrying Former UK Prime Minister Johnson Nearly Hit by Russian Drone Attack

Attended the 'Yalta European Strategy (YES)' Annual Conference
Former Prime Ministers of Sweden and the UK, Former CIA Director Among Delegates

Just minutes after a train carrying a delegation of former European leaders, including the former prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Norway, entered Poland, hundreds of Russian drones struck a train that was parked only 2 kilometers from the Ukraine-Poland border.

On the 13th (local time), near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border connecting Ukraine and Poland, a Ukrainian locomotive was attacked by a Russian drone. X.

According to Ukrainian Railways on the 13th (local time), Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of Sweden, and Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, narrowly avoided a Russian drone attack while returning from the 'Yalta European Strategy (YES)' annual conference—a major international security and diplomatic forum for European and Ukrainian leaders held in Kyiv. This conference was first held in 2004 in Crimea's Yalta, but since Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014, it has continued to take place in Kyiv, retaining its symbolic name.

This railway connecting Poland and Ukraine has become the main route for global leaders visiting Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. At the time of the Russian drone attack, the group of former European prime ministers was aboard a special chartered train arranged by Ukraine, and they had already crossed the border and disembarked at Dorohusk station in the Polish city of Dorohusk.

However, David Petraeus, the former director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who also attended the conference, had to disembark and evacuate from his train at Yahodyn station after a warning was issued. Although a Russian drone struck another train stationed nearby at Yahodyn, there were no casualties as all passengers had evacuated before the drone strike. However, it is reported that a gas station near the Polish border caught fire as a result of the drone attack.

In a statement, Petraeus said, "This appears to be part of Russia's campaign of escalation intended to terrorize Ukrainian civilians and intimidate those considering travel to Ukraine." Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt wrote on X that although his train was ordered to prepare for evacuation after stopping, he was informed a few minutes later that the danger had passed, allowing the journey to Poland to continue. "No one was hurt, and the safety systems worked very well," he said.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticized, "I have no idea what twisted logic drove Putin to blow up a Ukrainian locomotive at the border this morning," adding, "What is clear is that this is yet another example of the random and senseless attacks Ukrainians endure daily—even against civilian railways." Johnson called on Western countries, saying, "Wake up and provide Ukrainians with what they need and rightfully deserve."

Ukrainian Railways stated that the train carrying former Prime Ministers Bildt and Johnson departed the station earlier than scheduled, altering its itinerary due to the ongoing threat of Russian airstrikes. Passengers at Yahodyn station were reportedly ordered to evacuate around 15 minutes before a Russian jet-propelled drone struck.

While Russia claimed it was targeting "rail infrastructure" in western Ukraine, Ukrainian Railways refuted this, emphasizing that it was highly likely the diplomatic delegation's train was the intended target of the drone attack.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.