Polish authorities say that two Ukrainian nationals may have been involved in two acts of railway sabotage and that, according to the investigation, they had cooperated with Russian special services and entered Poland from Belarus. Moscow denies involvement. The account is based on a Gazeta Wyborcza report republished in translation by Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The two incidents targeted railway infrastructure and, according to the Polish side, came close to causing a large-scale disaster. Near the village of Mika outside Garwolin, an explosive device containing real explosives was planted, while near Pulawy a steel clamp was placed on the tracks in an apparent attempt to derail a train.
The report says the most dangerous scenario involved the Swinoujscie-Rzeszow express, which was traveling at 150 km/h. There were 475 people on board. Had the train derailed and fallen from the embankment, the result could have been dozens of injuries and deaths. The authors describe the incident as an act of terrorism.
According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the operation appeared professional: the attackers allegedly used a military-type device connected by cable to a detonator, as well as cameras linked to phones to broadcast the attack. The charge was placed on a curve and on an embankment, next to a sleeper, in order to tear the rail apart with the force of the blast. At the same time, the sabotage failed: one of the charges did not detonate, and investigators found electronic fragments and fingerprints at the scene that helped identify the perpetrators.
Polish security services say they identified the two participants. The newspaper argues that their Ukrainian background may itself have been part of a broader plan. The sabotage near Garwolin took place on the third anniversary of the Przewodow tragedy on November 15, 2022, when two people were killed after a Ukrainian missile fell there. Had the new attack caused mass casualties, public disclosure of the suspects' nationality might have fueled anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland and further strained relations between Warsaw and Kyiv.
The article says the suspects, who fled to Belarus, did not act alone. They were likely assisted by a Russian network operating in Poland that provided shelter, logistics and equipment. The authors also argue that Poland remains a key target for such operations because of its role in the transit of aid to Ukraine and the large number of Ukrainian citizens living there. The report adds that extradition from Belarus is unlikely and that the risk of further attacks remains high.