Boris Johnson hits out at Putin after near miss with Russian drone

Boris Johnson has hit out at Vladimir Putin after a Russian drone targeted the railway line he was travelling on.

The former prime minister was alerted at 5am on Sunday as he returned from a security conference in Kyiv after another passenger train behind his was forced to evacuate near Yagodyn, near the Polish border.

In a post on X, Mr Johnson wrote: “I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning.”

It is understood the route was frequently used by foreign delegations returning from Kyiv, but Mr Johnson was not evacuated or delayed by the incident. Sources told The Independent none of the “VIP” trains with European officials were involved in the attack.

An ordinary passenger train was evacuated, believed to be as a result of a gas station hit near the train. Another train carriage sitting in the sidings was hit but was not moving or part of a running service.

Ukraine’s ​railway operator, ⁠Ukrzaliznytsia, said on Telegram: “It is entirely possible that the Russian drone’s intended target was the diplomatic train, which departed the station earlier than ⁠scheduled after train timetables were adjusted in real time because of the constant threat of Russian strikes.”

The operator also reported a train in Volyn, just a mile from the Polish border, was hit, but no one was injured in the attack.

Mr Johnson continued: “What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day – even on civilian railways. So far Putin has been responsible for the deaths of 1,700 staff of Ukrzaliznytsia – Ukrainian Railways. They and their daily passengers are absolutely heroic.

“When are we going to give them the air defences they need? Why won’t we unfreeze Putin’s cash and give it to Ukraine? There is more than €140 billion in a Belgian bank account – and about £10 billion in London. Britain could show a lead.

“The Ukrainians are going to win – that much was clear from the last three days in their wonderful country. But we will get this dreadful war over much faster if we all get serious and give them what they need and deserve.”

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when Mr Johnson was in power, he has remained a close ally to the Ukrainian people. As prime minister, he was one of the first world leaders to offer humanitarian and military support to Ukraine.

He has remained outspoken in his support for Ukraine in the fight against Vladimir Putin since leaving office.

⁠Carl Bildt, former Sweden’s prime minister, said on X: “This wasn’t our train, but the one just minutes after us by the border crossing. It was evacuated as the drone approached and no one was hurt.”

The attack on the passenger train was one of a number of strikes along the border, with a Polish ‌border guard spokesperson reporting a Russian drone struck near the Ukrainian-Polish border in the small town of Yahodyn overnight, less than a mile from the Polish border.

Ukraine operates several border ‌crossings with Poland, through ⁠which a significant proportion of the ⁠military and humanitarian aid from its allies is delivered to ‌the country.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha condemned Moscow’s “barbaric strikes” on the Ukrainian-Polish border on Sunday, which was the latest strike to hit near a Nato country.

“Russia’s barbaric strikes ⁠at the Ukraine-Poland ​border in Yahodyn ⁠are not just a continuation of its attacks on our state borders,” ⁠Mr Sybiha said 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.”

Russia’s defence ministry said it had targeted infrastructure facilitating military cargoes from Europe in Western Ukraine. Ukraine is dependent on trade and arms shipments from across the Polish, Romanian and Moldovan borders.

Russia has begun targeting Ukraine’s border crossings with its Western allies in recent weeks, part of a growing campaign by both sides ⁠to erode the other’s economic infrastructure more than four years ​into ⁠the Russian invasion.