Poland alarmed after Russia attacks train from Kiev to Warsaw

Polish government accuses Moscow of escalating conflict after Russian attacks on train from Kiev to Warsaw and Ukraine's border region with Poland.

Ukrainian President Zelensky calls for tougher consequences on Moscow after attacks near Polish-Ukrainian border set a locomotive on fire and damaged a petrol station.

Moscow confirms attacks on rail infrastructure in western Ukraine facilitating transport of military goods from European countries, as Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russian invasion.

After Russian attacks on a train from Kiev to Warsaw and on Ukraine's border region with Poland, the Polish government on Sunday accused Moscow of escalating the conflict.

"Putin escalates," Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski wrote on X. Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened a crisis team for the afternoon. Western politicians travelling to Kiev rely on the rail link from Poland to Ukraine as the country's airspace is closed.

On Sunday, the locomotive of the passenger train from Kiev to Warsaw was attacked at the border station of Yahodyn, according to Ukrainian Railways. Passengers were evacuated in time and nobody was harmed, it said.

Polish railway operator PKP said it had taken over the train from the Ukrainian side with a delay of more than six hours and it was continuing on to Warsaw.

Poland's Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said a drone also struck in western Ukraine one kilometre from Poland's border and another at a distance of five kilometres. Polish F-16 fighter jets and a reconnaissance aircraft monitored the situation, he said. Polish airspace was not violated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote that Moscow's attacks near the Polish-Ukrainian border in the Volyn region set a locomotive on fire and damaged a petrol station.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for tougher consequences on Moscow. Russian attacks on the Polish-Ukrainian border were not simply a continuation of attacks on Ukraine's state borders, he wrote on X.

"This is Putin's terror 'knocking' directly on the doors of the EU and NATO. Russian barbarians are at your gate, dear partners," he said.

Prime Minister Tusk convened a late-afternoon crisis meeting of cabinet ministers and uniformed services. "We are taking these events extremely seriously," Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński wrote on X.

The Defence Ministry in Moscow confirmed attacks on rail infrastructure in western Ukraine that facilitated transport of military goods from European countries, it said.

Ukraine has been defending itself with Western help for more than four and a half years against a Russian invasion. Russian attacks repeatedly cause deaths and damage to rail traffic and at stations.