Poland Probes Suspected Sabotage on Key Rail Line Used to Supply Ukraine

Polish authorities are investigating damage to a railway line south of Warsaw, where a section of track was found destroyed on the morning of November 16.

The incident, reported by a train driver operating near the village of Życzyn, prompted officials to examine whether the break resulted from a deliberate explosion.

According to the Polish outlet Super Express, a train driver travelling near the Mikołajówka (Mika) station informed dispatchers at 07:39 about irregularities in the rail infrastructure.

A preliminary inspection revealed that roughly one meter of track had been destroyed, forcing the train to stop. No passengers or crew members were injured.

The Mazovian Police stated that operations were immediately redirected through an adjacent track while specialists assessed the damage.

Super Express published photographs shared by the rail-monitoring channel Dyspozytura Trakcji on X, showing a clean break in the rail consistent with a forceful impact.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote that investigators are considering deliberate sabotage. “It cannot be ruled out that we are dealing with an act of sabotage,” he posted, according to PAP on November 16. Tusk added that he remains in contact with the Minister of the Interior as the inquiry continues.

Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk told PAP that both the police and the Internal Security Agency (ABW) are examining the site. He noted that more information may be available on November 17–18.

Duszczyk also cautioned against premature assumptions, saying that the authorities are “not powerful enough” for Russia to be “behind every fire or every situation of this kind,” although he added that possible Russian involvement “cannot be excluded or ignored.”

Investigative journalist Christo Grozev shared the same photographs on X, calling the break “an act of sabotage” and suggesting that the damaged line may be connected to the route leading toward Rzeszów — the city hosting an airport that plays a central role in military aid deliveries to Ukraine.

According to Grozev, the explosion appeared to be “a remote detonation using a long electric cable leading to the nearest parking lot.” Polish authorities have not confirmed this assessment.

Police confirmed that the incident occurred in the Garwolin district along the Dęblin–Warsaw line, about 70 kilometers south of the capital. Two passengers and several crew members were present on the train at the time. Local residents interviewed by Polish journalists reported hearing a loud noise the previous evening, but law enforcement has not verified these accounts.

PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, the national rail infrastructure operator, announced that traffic between Sobolew and Życzyn will temporarily operate on a single track while the damaged section is examined by a rail commission.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk later underscored the gravity of the incident on X, stating:

“Blowing up the rail track on the Warsaw–Lublin route is an unprecedented act of sabotage targeting directly the security of the Polish state and its civilians. This route is also crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine. We will catch the perpetrators, whoever they are.”

Earlier in June, a suspected arson attack destroyed at least six military trucks at a Bundeswehr logistics site in Erfurt, Germany. The attack was allegedly carried out by pro-Russian operatives, with footage published on Telegram showing burning Rheinmetall MAN vehicles marked with Bundeswehr insignia.

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