Russian drones strike train near Polish border after European officials pass through.

Russian drones strike a train near the Polish border after European officials pass through.

A Russian drone struck the locomotive of a passenger train near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday, just after a separate train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, and other European officials had passed through the area.

The strike happened at Yahodyn, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Polish border. Ukrainian authorities and the state railroad operator Ukrzaliznytsia said no passengers or railroad workers were injured in the incident, adding that people on board the affected train were evacuated before the strike.

Questions have been raised about whether the European delegation’s diplomatic train was the intended target. Ukrzaliznytsia said the drone had likely been targeting that train, which had left Yahodyn earlier than planned because of the threat of Russian strikes.

But there is no independent confirmation that the diplomatic train was targeted.

Russian authorities said the strike hit Russian railroad infrastructure. The Ukrainian railroad operator said the locomotive that was hit was part of a passenger train heading for Poland.

The diplomatic train was carrying Johnson, Bildt, and security advisers from several European countries back from the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv. Bildt later said his train travelled through the area minutes before the attack.

Safety measures did not cause any fatalities. The railroad administration said railroad officials rescheduled the diplomatic train due to ongoing threats, and passengers on the train, which was later hit, were evacuated after the approaching drone was detected by the authorities.

At the time of the incident, former CIA Director David Petraeus was also at the Yahodyn station, but he was on a different train, not the one that was struck. Later he called the experience frightening and denounced the attack as part of Russia’s wider campaign against Ukraine.

The strike came amid a wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine. The incident near the Polish border is especially sensitive because western Ukraine has generally been less affected by attacks than areas closer to the front line.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack, saying Russia was bringing the consequences of the war closer to the European Union and NATO. He reiterated his call for tougher sanctions against Moscow.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also called an emergency meeting while officials assessed the security implications of the attacks near the country’s border.

The incident comes as Poland and other NATO members have stepped up their focus on the threat of Russian drones and other military threats reaching areas close to alliance territory.

The Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing is an important link between Ukraine and Poland, used for international passenger and freight traffic. The proximity of Sunday's strike to Polish territory adds to concerns about the risks posed by Russia's continued attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

For now, it remains unclear whether someone targeted the diplomatic train carrying Johnson and other European officials on purpose. Horizons have mooted that possibility, but the available evidence does not show any Russian intent.