On the weekend of November 16th and 17th, a section of railway track on the line connecting Warsaw to Lubin was destroyed by an explosion. This all took place near the village of Mika, which is about 100 km southeast of Warsaw. The train driver first noticed irregularities around 7:40 a.m., and this prompted an inspection, bringing to light the sabotage at hand. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries as officials emphasized that this could have ended far worse than it did. Had the explosive device detonated under a high-speed passenger train or freight train, this would’ve ended in a much more tragic story. There was also a second incident that reportedly damaged the power lines on the same route. 

As of now, the explosion has been labeled by Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister of Poland, as an “unprecedented act of sabotage.” Currently, two men, Ukrainian citizens, have been identified as the main suspects. The Polish authorities allege that they collaborated with Russian intelligence services and fled to Belarus shortly after the sabotage. According to government officials, one of the two suspects had previously been convicted of sabotage within Ukraine, so the chances of them being associated with this crime are high. Even though both suspects have been named and accused, legal proceedings and further investigations are still ongoing. Authorities have not yet released full evidence or publicly revealed their identities for security reasons. Beyond just that, it’s not clear whether this explosion was a standalone incident or part of a larger train of sabotage attacks from Russia. However, officials are now inspecting more than 120 km of rail line towards the Ukraine border to search for additional threats or devices.  As of now, Russia denies any involvement.