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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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Russia dismissed Poland's accusation that Moscow's secret services were likely behind a sabotage attack on a rail line in the NATO ally, one that is key to supplying aid to neighboring Ukraine.
Andrei Ordash, Chargé d’Affaires of Russia in Poland, told Newsweek in a statement, originally in Russian, that the embassy in Warsaw "generally does not comment on the various absurd statements made by the Polish authorities, whose aim is to stoke Russophobia and war hysteria within Polish society."
But Ordash added that "we would like to note that Russia currently faces far more important tasks (including developing ties with international partners who wish to do so) than carrying out any completely unnecessary unfriendly actions toward Poland, which for 12 years has systematically and deliberately been destroying its relations with our country."
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Poland: 'Unprecedented Act of Sabotage'
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described Sunday's attack as an "unprecedented act of sabotage" against his country's citizens. An explosion hit the rail line from Polish capital Warsaw to Lublin and damage was caused elsewhere on the line.
Poland is a hub for Western support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia's ongoing invasion. Tusk noted that the line hit is "crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine."
Speaking to the Polish parliament on Tuesday, Tusk said the two individuals suspected of working on behalf of Russian intelligence, and who allegedly carried out the rail sabotage attack, are from Ukraine and have since fled into Belarus, a close ally of Moscow.
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He also described the sabotage attack as the most serious incident to have happened to Poland since February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Everything indicates” that the rail bombing was "initiated by the Russian secret services,” Jacek Dobrzyński, the spokesman for Poland’s security services minister, said on Tuesday morning, according to the Polish Press Agency, or PAP.
In the first incident, an explosion damaged the tracks near the village of Mika, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Warsaw and, in a separate incident, power lines were destroyed in the area of Puławy, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Lublin. Trains carrying passengers were forced to stop at both locations, but no one was hurt.
"The explosion was most likely intended to blow up the train,” Tusk had said on Monday in reference to the Mika incident.
Rising Risk of NATO-Russia Clash
NATO allies accuse Russia of waging hybrid warfare against them in the form of sabotage attacks, espionage, cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns. Moscow denies this and accuses NATO of seeking war with Russia.
There is a growing risk of a catastrophic direct NATO-Russia clash amid the Ukraine war. Both sides, going through a period of rapid rearmament, are armed with huge arsenals of nuclear weapons.
Earlier this year, Poland triggered NATO's Article 4 over alleged serious Russian violations of its airspace, kick-starting formal consultations with allies on how to respond. Poland has also blamed Russia for a huge mall fire in Warsaw in 2024.
Russia has denied previous accusations of sabotage made by NATO allies.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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