Poland Seeks to Charge 2 Rail Explosion Suspects With Acts of Terrorist Sabotage

Prosecutors said that investigators had managed to collate a range of evidence that indicates a ‘high probability’ the suspects committed the acts of sabotage.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk (second right) visits the site of the rail line that was damaged by sabotage, near Deblin, Poland, on Nov. 17, 2025. KPRM/AP Photo

Poland is seeking to charge two Ukrainians accused of working on behalf of Russia with acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature over an explosion that damaged a railway line used to transport aid to Ukraine, prosecutors said on Nov. 19.

In a statement, the National Prosecutor’s Office said Oleksandr K. (born 1986) and Yevhenii I. (born 1984) are suspected of committing sabotage to railway tracks on the Warsaw East–Dorohusk route. The office did not provide further details about the suspects’ identities beyond their first names, last initials, and year of birth.

“The charges concern the commission of acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature on November 15–16, 2025, on behalf of the intelligence services of the Russian Federation against the Republic of Poland,” prosecutors said.

The suspects are alleged to have damaged railway tracks in Mika in Garwolin County by planting C4 explosive and detonating it on Nov. 15. They are also accused of damaging the traction network in Golab in Pulawy County and planting two specially designed metal elements on the rail, intending to pose a threat to trains.

Investigators said early on that no civilians or rail employees aboard trains on the line were injured by the damage.

Prosecutors said that investigators had collated a range of evidence indicating a “high probability” that Oleksandr K. and Yevhenii I. had committed acts of sabotage.

“These actions created an imminent threat of a land transport disaster in the form of train derailments, posing a significant threat to the lives and health of many people and to property,” prosecutors said.

“The perpetrators’ goal was to seriously intimidate many people and influence public opinion, as well as to undermine security, destabilize public order, and increase the sense of insecurity among the public.”

Prosecutors say that according to evidence, both suspects left Poland on Nov. 16 for Belarus, an ally of the Russian Federation. For that reason, prosecutors said it is impossible to conduct any procedural activities, including formally charging the two Ukrainian nationals.

Russia Blamed

While officials were initially reticent to lay blame on any particular group or state for the sabotage, by Nov. 18, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed suspicions pointing to the involvement of Ukrainian nationals collaborating with Russian intelligence.

In response, the Kremlin said it was not surprised that Poland had accused Russia of involvement in the incident.

“It would be quite strange if Russia weren’t blamed first,” Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Nov. 18, according to state-run Russian news agency TASS.

“Russia is being accused of all manifestations of the hybrid and direct warfare that is taking place. In Poland, let’s say, everyone is trying to get ahead of the European locomotive in this regard, and Russophobia is, of course, in full bloom there.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Nov. 19, following a conversation with Tusk, that “all the facts indicate that there is a Russian trace behind all of this.”

“No one except the Russians is interested in this,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X, adding that Kyiv was ready to work with Warsaw to share information.

“We agreed that we will set up a Ukrainian–Polish group that will work to prevent similar situations from the Russian side in the future,” he said.

Poland Deploys 10,000 Troops

The Polish government on Nov. 19 announced it would deploy 10,000 troops to defend the country’s critical infrastructure.

Dubbed “Operation Horizon,” Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a press conference that the military, police, and railway security services will work together in what he described as one of the country’s largest operations to secure infrastructure and protect the public.

“Today, many experts say that we are in an era that is neither wartime [nor] peacetime,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, according to Polish international news network TVP World. “In the era of hybrid threats … we must combine the efforts of all state services.”

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski announced on Nov. 19 the closure of the last Russian Consulate in response to the sabotage incident.

Sikorski said, “Though it will not be our full response, I have decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the last Russian Consulate in Gdansk.”

Two other consulates, in Krakow and Poznan, were closed in recent years. The Russian Embassy in Warsaw remains open.

In response, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on Nov. 19 that Moscow “will reduce Poland’s diplomatic and consular missions in Russia.”

Commenting on Poland’s move to close the consulate in Gdansk, Kremlin spokesperson Peskov told reporters, according to TASS: “Relations with Poland have completely deteriorated. This is perhaps a manifestation of this deterioration and the ambitions of the Polish authorities to reduce any opportunity [to maintain] consular or diplomatic relations to zero. We can only express our regret here.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.