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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland’s defence minister says that, while the perpetrators of the explosion that damaged a rail line in Poland at the weekend are still being sought, “all traces lead to Russia” being behind the incident and that “this is part of the war they are waging” against the West.
Meanwhile, Polish prosecutors have launched an investigation into the incident as an “act of sabotage of a terrorist nature committed for the benefit of foreign intelligence”.
On Sunday, damage to a track was spotted by a train driver on a line between Warsaw and the eastern city of Lublin. On Monday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that it had been caused by sabotage that was likely intended to target a train. No one was injured in the incident.
Poland has confirmed that a deliberate act of sabotage was behind an explosion that damaged a train track between Warsaw and Lublin.
No possible perpetrator has been identified, but a minister notes that the line in question is used for supplying Ukraine https://t.co/tXy3SLkLlh
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 17, 2025
Speaking to broadcaster Radio Zet on Tuesday morning, defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz added his voice to those suggesting that Moscow – which has orchestrated a campaign of sabotage in Poland and other EU countries – was behind the latest incident.
“Only when the perpetrators are caught will we have absolute certainty but, analysing all the events taking place in Poland and Europe, all the traces lead east to Russia,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz.
“This is part of the war they are waging against NATO, against Europe, against us – a hybrid war, a war to sow unrest, sow fear,” he added. “This is the strategy of weakening the West.”
“We have acts of sabotage, disinformation on a gigantic scale online, attempts to destroy critical infrastructure across Europe, new migration routes being created to disrupt peace, but also to destroy societies from within,” continued the minister. “This is part of a new kind of war.”
.@KosiniakKamysz o torach: Analizując zdarzenia w Polsce, Europie, sprawy lotnisk, akcje dywersji w innych państwach, podpalenia w centrach handlowych – wszystkie ślady prowadzą na wschód, do Rosji@RadioZET_NEWS #GośćRadiaZET @BogRymanowski
— Gość Radia ZET (@Gosc_RadiaZET) November 18, 2025
A similar message was issued by Valdis Dombrovskis, a member of the European Commission and former prime minister of Latvia, who told Polskie Radio that, while it is not yet known for sure who was behind the incident, it is consistent with Russia’s modus operandi.
“Unfortunately, this is the reality we are currently facing; we are in a state of hybrid war with Russia,” said Dombrovskis, pointing to other acts of sabotage in EU countries, as well as drone strikes, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Polish National Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had launched an investigation into “acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature directed against railway infrastructure and committed for the benefit of foreign intelligence”.
Radio Zet reports unofficially, based on sources, that investigators have found a second explosive device as well as video recording equipment near the damaged track.
Another media outlet, RMF, reports, also based on sources, that the security services have traced who purchased two SIM cards that were used to remotely detonate explosives on the Warsaw-Lublin line
In 2023, 16 members of a group operating on behalf of Russia were jailed in Poland. They had planned, among other objectives, to blow up aid trains bound for Ukraine and had used cameras to monitor infrastructure.
Since then, a number of other acts of sabotage have been carried out by other groups on behalf of Russia in Poland, including arson attacks and the sending of explosive devices by post.
Three Ukrainians have been jailed in Poland for their role in a group tasked with carrying out sabotage and terrorism.
That included the fire that destroyed Warsaw’s largest shopping centre, which Polish prosecutors say was carried out on Russia’s orders https://t.co/xuFx5T4HH9
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 24, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Kancelaria Premiera/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
