Explosion on Polish railway was sabotage, says PM – Europe live

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'No doubt' about sabotage, Poland's interior minister says, with another part of same railway route also investigated

Poland’s interior minister Marcin Kierwiński also just issued a brief update, saying “there is no doubt that we are dealing with an act of sabotage.”

“Another section of this strategic railway route, where the tracks were damaged, is also being investigated,” he said.

Morning opening: Poland confirms sabotage on railway

In the last few minutes, Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has said that yesterday’s disruption on a busy railway route between Warsaw and Lublin in eastern Poland was confirmed as caused by an explosive device placed on the track.

“Unfortunately, [our] worst fears have been confirmed. On the Warsaw-Lublin route (Mika village), an act of sabotage has occurred. The explosion of an explosive device destroyed the railway track,” he said.

More damage was found elsewhere on the same line, Tusk said, prompting concerns about deliberate targeting of the route, which is used among others to facilitate aid deliveries to Ukraine.

Tusk said that “emergency services and the prosecutor’s office are working at the scene.”

Donald Tusk visiting the site of suspected sabotage in Mika (Garwolin County). Photograph: Twitter/X

The incident was reported on Sunday morning after a driver of a regional passenger train had spotted a missing part of the track, triggering an investigation into the causes of the damage.

The incident will cause further concern in Poland which remains on high alert amid continuing hybrid threats from Russia and Belarus, after more than 20 drones flew into Polish airspace in September, prompting a Nato response.

Expect more reactions from Poland and allies.

But the main event of the day will come a bit later as Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy flies to Paris to meet with the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, and discuss the latest on Ukraine and bilateral cooperation on defence, energy, and the economy.

The President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron welcomes Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine in September. Photograph: Jeanne Accorsini/SIPA/Shutterstock

Elsewhere,

• Finland’s influential president Alexander Stubb is in Brussels to meet with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte

• German finance minister and vice-chancellor Lars Klingbeil is in China for talks on trade

• Czech Republic and Slovakia mark the 36th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution

I will bring you all the latest here.

It’s Monday, 17 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.