Polish prosecutors charge one suspect in railway sabotage case

Poland’s National Prosecutor has formally charged one of four individuals detained in connection with acts of sabotage on railway tracks over the past weekend.

According to Polish media, Przemysław Nowak, a representative of the Polish prosecutor’s office, announced the development on November 21.

Nowak stated that four people were initially detained during the investigation into the railway sabotage. Three of them were released, while the fourth suspect was charged with concealing documents, including Russian passports, which he was not legally authorised to possess.

“Considering the suspect’s lack of a permanent residence, the prosecutor submitted a request to the court for temporary detention. This request was denied. A decision on a possible appeal will be made after reviewing the written justification,” Nowak added.

It is recalled that on November 19, two Ukrainian nationals were officially charged in Poland with acts of terrorist-type sabotage. Both men face potential life imprisonment.

Earlier media reports indicate that the Ukrainians suspected of blowing up a railway track between Lublin and Warsaw on Russia’s orders are allegedly Yevhen Ivanov and Oleksandr Kononov. They reportedly entered Poland using falsified documents and remained in the country for only a few hours.

On November 20, the temporary chargé d’affaires of Belarus in Poland was handed a diplomatic note requesting the extradition of the two Ukrainian citizens suspected of committing sabotage on the Polish railway network.

The first sabotage incident occurred on November 15 near the village of Mika, southeast of Warsaw, on the Warsaw–Dorohusk line, a critical rail connection to the Ukrainian border. An explosive device detonated as a freight train passed, damaging the track. Investigators recovered several items at the scene, including a wire believed to have triggered the blast.

The second incident took place near the village of Gołąb, close to Puławy, on the same line. Saboteurs damaged part of the overhead power system and placed a steel clamp on the tracks—actions that could have caused a derailment. On November 16, a passenger train carrying 475 people was forced to brake sharply due to the damage.

By Tamilla Hasanova