A Russian drone strike near the Ukraine-Poland border narrowly missed a diplomatic train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other senior European figures, according to Ukrainian railway officials. The drone instead struck a locomotive near Yahodyn, just a short distance from the Polish border.
Per BBC, The train carrying Johnson had already left the station after railway officials adjusted its schedule amid the threat of Russian strikes. Ukrainian Railways later said it was “highly probable” that the diplomatic train had been the drone’s intended target.
The attack unfolded close enough to Poland to immediately raise the stakes. The damaged locomotive was operating on the Kyiv-Warsaw route. Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt were traveling with European security advisers after attending a major conference in Kyiv.
The train carrying Johnson had a very narrow escape
The diplomatic train had departed Yahodyn ahead of its planned schedule. That seemingly routine adjustment may have kept Johnson and the other passengers out of the drone’s path.
Bildt later described the train that was hit as the one that followed theirs. He said passengers were evacuated as the drone approached, and no one on that train was hurt.
In a report by CNN, the strike hit a locomotive rather than the diplomatic train. There were no reported casualties among the trains involved, despite the attack occurring in an area packed with international officials.
The situation was even more tense because another train carrying former CIA Director David Petraeus was still at Yahodyn when the strike happened. Petraeus, coming back from a trip to Russia, later described hearing the drones and the explosion while he was in the area.
Ukrainian Railways said it routinely changes train schedules in response to the threat of Russian attacks. In this case, that system appears to have created a crucial window for the diplomatic train to clear the area before the strike.
Johnson responded angrily after the incident, questioning the reasoning behind an attack on a stationary Ukrainian locomotive near the Polish border. He also argued that attacks on civilian railway infrastructure show the danger facing Ukrainians far from the front lines.
The location of the attack has added another layer of concern. Yahodyn sits near the Dorohusk crossing into Poland, meaning the strike occurred close to the territory of a NATO member.
Polish officials have already warned that Russia’s expanding attacks near the border could create a wider security problem. The proximity of the strike means even a small change in the drone’s trajectory could have carried consequences beyond Ukraine.
Published: Sep 14, 2026 03:45 pm