Polish railway sabotage: Similar attack attempts becoming more frequent

Polish police have made another arrest in connection with a serious railway sabotage case: prosecutors have charged a man suspected of helping prepare a railway attack. According to authorities, the man “assisted in scouting the area and selecting the location.” The investigation concerns the attempted bombing on November 15 in the village of Życzyn, which Polish officials classify as a Russian sabotage operation. During the attack, an explosive device was placed on the tracks of the Warsaw–Lublin railway line, but Polish security services managed to prevent major damage in time.

In connection with the sabotage attempt, officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBŚP) arrested a Ukrainian citizen, Volodymyr B., on November 20. Two days later, a prosecutor from the Mazovia Division of the National Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against him. He is suspected of assisting two saboteurs who are accused of directly placing the explosive device on the railway tracks. A court has ordered Volodymyr B.’s pre-trial detention.

The Polish government has interpreted the attempted bombing as an attack on railway lines used frequently to transport aid and weapons to Ukraine. Recently, similar attempts—attributed to Russia—have become more common.