Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson narrowly escaped a drone attack in Ukraine after a passenger train travelling from Kyiv to Warsaw was targeted near the Polish border on Sunday. The train carrying more than 200 passengers was evacuated in time, and no injuries were reported.
Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt and several other foreign officials were travelling towards Poland after attending a security conference in Kyiv. Their train had passed through the area just minutes before a separate passenger train was targeted by a drone.
Bildt later clarified on social media that the train hit by the drone was not the one carrying the foreign delegation. He said the targeted train was travelling towards the Polish border a few minutes behind their train and praised the security arrangements that allowed the passengers to be evacuated in time.
Drone Hits Passenger Train Near Polish Border
According to Ukrainian Railways, the drone targeted the locomotive of a passenger train in the Volyn region, around two kilometres from the Polish border.
The train crew was alerted to the threat before the attack, allowing passengers to be evacuated and moved to safety. No casualties were reported.
The Associated Press reported that the special train carrying foreign representatives had already passed through the area when the attack occurred. Ukrainian Railways said the train carrying the delegation had been allowed to leave ahead of schedule as a security precaution.
Boris Johnson, European Officials Were In Area
Several European security and foreign policy officials were travelling with Johnson and Bildt towards Poland. Reports said senior German security advisers, along with officials associated with Britain, France and Italy, were part of the delegation.
Former CIA chief David Petraeus was also reportedly in the region. Security measures were tightened following the drone attack. Once the threat had eased, the trains were allowed to continue their journeys.
Johnson condemned the attack, calling it a senseless strike and saying that civilians and railway workers in Ukraine continue to face repeated attacks.
He urged Western nations to strengthen Ukraine’s air-defence capabilities. Johnson also backed consideration of using frozen Russian assets held in Europe and Britain to provide further support to Ukraine.
