A Russian drone attack damaged a locomotive at a railway station near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday, September 13, 2026. The station is called Yahodyn, and it sits close to the border crossing with Poland known as Yahodyn-Dorohusk. The Ukrainian rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia reported that the drone struck the locomotive of a passenger train near the station. A diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, Carl Bildt, and other European security experts had left the station just minutes before the attack. Bildt, a former Swedish prime minister, shared video footage of the strike and said the train that was hit was not his. He noted that the attack occurred just after their train passed through the station, near the Polish border. The train with Bildt and Johnson had been traveling from a security conference in Kyiv.
Ukrzaliznytsia said it was highly probable that the diplomatic train was the intended target. The company said the train had left Yahodyn ahead of schedule because timetables were being adjusted in real time due to the threat of Russian strikes.
Another train, carrying former CIA Director David Petraeus, was still at the station when the drone struck, according to NPR. No injuries were reported on any of the trains, and passengers on the struck train were evacuated before the drone arrived. Ukrzaliznytsia said it regularly adjusts train schedules to avoid possible attacks.
Johnson posted on social media that the attack was senseless and showed how Ukrainians face daily threats. Falling drone debris also set fire to a petrol station and several trucks near the same border crossing, according to Ukrainian customs officials. No one was hurt in that incident, and the checkpoint itself remained intact, according to a report from Euronews. Emergency teams responded to the damage, including firefighters and other emergency personnel. Border operations were temporarily suspended during the air-raid alert and later resumed.
The locomotive strike occurred about two kilometers from the Polish border. Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces were striking railway infrastructure in western Ukraine used to transport military cargo from Europe.
The area is a key route for military and humanitarian supplies from Poland and other Western allies. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the strikes were not just attacks on Ukraine's borders but "Putin's terror" knocking at the doors of NATO and the European Union. He urged European nations to increase sanctions against Russia.
More than 450 Russian drones and missiles were launched across Ukraine during the overnight attacks, according to Ukrainian officials cited by The Guardian. At least six people were killed and more than 40 were injured. Ukraine's air force said it intercepted 405 drones and four missiles.
Polish authorities confirmed the strike occurred about 800 meters from their side of the border. They also said no injuries were reported on the Polish side. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk chaired an emergency meeting after the attacks. He said Poland could not rule out the possibility that the escalation could affect Polish territory.
Both Ukrainian and Polish officials continued assessing the damage from the drone strikes.