Russian Drone Strike Narrowly Misses Boris Johnson Near Polish Border

A Russian Geran-5 jet-powered drone struck a stationary locomotive of a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train on September 13, 2026, at Yahodyn station, approximately two kilometers from the Polish border. The attack occurred shortly after a diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, and other European security officials departed the station. Ukrainian state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia reported that the diplomatic train had departed earlier than scheduled due to real-time timetable adjustments, stating it is highly probable the delegation was the intended target.

No casualties were reported among the 206 passengers on the struck train, as crews received an advance warning and evacuated the locomotive 15 minutes before impact. Former CIA Director David Petraeus was also present at the station on a separate civilian train and was evacuated shortly before the explosion. The strike also damaged a nearby petrol station and a commercial lorry, briefly halting operations at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency security meeting, warning that Russian escalation could affect Polish territory. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha characterized the strike as Putin's terror knocking on the doors of the EU and NATO. Boris Johnson condemned the event as a random and senseless attack and called for the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed the strike targeted infrastructure used for European military cargoes.