Merz Adviser and Boris Johnson Were Near Site of Russian Strike by Polish Border
Russia struck a railway near the Ukraine-Poland border early Sunday while a special train carrying a top adviser to Germany's chancellor and former UK PM Boris Johnson was approaching. No one was hurt.
Early on Sunday, September 13, Russia struck railway infrastructure near the "Yahodyn" checkpoint on the Ukraine-Poland border.
According to the magazine Der Spiegel, a special train was approaching the border at the time of the strike. On board were Günther Sautter, the closest adviser to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, along with security advisers from other European countries, members of the Bundestag, diplomats and academics. Deutsche Welle reports that former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was traveling to Poland on the same train.
Train Halted, Some Passengers Evacuated
The outlet says the train stopped near the Polish border around 5 a.m., and some passengers were evacuated. This followed a Russian strike on the same rail line targeting the locomotive of a regular passenger train traveling from Kyiv to Warsaw.
No passengers on either train were injured in the attack. Der Spiegel reports that officials on the special train were left only shaken: shortly after the train was stopped over a drone threat and conductors woke passengers for evacuation, the alert was called off after no further drones were detected.
Zelensky and Sybiha Condemn the Strike
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said afterward that Russian forces had demonstratively burned the locomotive of the passenger train. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for tougher sanctions against Moscow, describing the incident as "Putin's terror" that is "knocking" directly on the doors of the EU and NATO.
