Polish railway explosion erupts into multinational scandal as Russian intelligence blamed
A startling detail behind a terrifying railroad explosion inside a NATO nation has dialled up tensions tenfold, with Russia pinned as the aggressor.
A deliberate attack on a Polish railway route has erupted into a multinational scandal with potentially grave consequences, with officials now pointing the finger directly at Moscow’s intelligence agencies.
The first explosion struck near the village of Mika, roughly 100km southeast of the capital Warsaw, while the second attack destroyed power lines near Puławy, about 50km from Lublin.
Passenger trains were halted at both sites, though fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Prosecutors have launched a formal inquiry into what they describe as “acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature” carried out to benefit foreign intelligence.
Evidence gathered after a National Security Committee meeting indicates the weekend explosion was “initiated by the Russian secret services”, claimed Jacek Dobrzyński, the spokesman for the Polish minister overseeing security services.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly waved down the accusations, claiming that it’s just the same old narrative pushed by the West whenever something bad happens in Europe.
“It would have been really strange if Russia hadn’t been blamed first,” he said.
“Russia is accused of all acts of hybrid and direct war … in Poland,” he told Russia’s state-run media, adding: “Russophobia is certainly rampant there.”
Prime Minister Donald Tusk then added another startling detail.
Speaking to the nation, he declared the two suspects involved were Ukrainian nationals who allegedly worked with Russian intelligence. He said they fled Poland and are now in Belarus.
Mr Tusk condemned the incident as an “unprecedented act of sabotage”, announced that select railway lines will immediately move to a third-tier threat level.
Authorities are also examining a camera found near the site of the explosion, and army patrols have been dispatched to sweep rail corridors and essential facilities in Poland’s east.
“The explosion was most likely intended to blow up the train,” Mr Tusk said, confirming 55 individuals have been detained regarding acts of sabotage in Poland.
Did Russia do it?
It’s hard to tell.
If true, the accusation poses a potentially catastrophic butterfly effect for Europe. Poland, having joined NATO in 1999, is closely tied to Western superpowers, who have long warned Russia of the consequences of an attack on their allies’ soil.
Ukraine is not a NATO member, but talks over its inclusion in the powerful alliance were one of the major sticking points for Russia in the years before its invasion.
Russia believes Ukraine’s unique geographical position that protrudes deep underneath Russia’s southern border is too dangerous to be handed over to the US and its allies.
In Moscow’s opinion, the idea that Western powers could line their militaries up on the south side of the Ukraine-Russia border is an embarrassment and a huge step backwards in the post-Cold War era.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies says that, so far, most of the overt violence has been inside Ukraine. Still, there’s already a significant body of evidence that Russia runs covert but plausibly deniable operations in Europe.
Everything from sabotage, arson, fires at depots, cable damage and cyberattacks has been preliminarily traced back to Russia and its deep foreign propaganda network.
A recent report from the Institute claims Russian sabotage operations against European infrastructure have surged since 2023, especially after many Russian diplomats and intelligence officers were expelled.
For Poland, this week’s railway explosion could be part of a broader story playing out over the past few years. On 9-10 September 2025, about 19-23 drones crossed into Polish airspace from Belarus and Russia. While it was less a “sabotage of infrastructure” incident and more an air violation, analysts treat it as part of the same pattern of hybrid aggression.
Earlier in 2023, Poland’s rail network near Szczecin, Gdynia and Bialystok experienced mysterious “radio stop” signals that caused freight and passenger train stops. Two men were arrested near Białystok in connection with the disruption.
It remains unclear whether a foreign intelligence service was behind it, or if it was domestic criminal and terrorist actors.
According to Polish officials, the nation has faced a surge in cyberattacks since the Ukraine war began, including attacks on hospitals, water-supply systems, and general infrastructure.
The government is now tightening security once again, with Prime Minister Tusk now deploying the military to safeguard critical infrastructure.
Originally published as Polish railway explosion erupts into multinational scandal as Russian intelligence blamed
