Ukraine war briefing: Poland calls for ‘double’ support to Kyiv after Russian train attack

Polish minister denounces ‘escalation’ after strike near border with UK’s Boris Johnson and ex-CIA chief David Petraeus nearby. What we know on day 1,664 Poland and Ukraine have denounced Russian strikes close to the Polish border as an “escalation” in the war after a train was targeted while former British prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-CIA director David Petraeus were at a border station nearby.

The escalation should lead to allies to “double” their support for Ukraine, Poland’s foreign minister said in Kyiv. “This was just a few hundred metres from the Polish border, this affects the safety of my countrymen,” Radoslaw Sikorski said. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk chaired an emergency meeting in Warsaw after the strikes, warning he expected Russia to escalate the war “in the coming weeks”. He added: “We cannot exclude that the escalation will also affect our territory ... I hope not.”

Poland and Ukraine said the Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train was struck just 2km from the Polish border , reporting no casualties. Shortly beforehand a diplomatic train was at Yagodyn station including Johnson as well as security advisers from several EU member states, while former CIA director David Petraeus was aboard another train at the station when the attack occurred, the Ukrzaliznytsia rail operator said. It did not say how far the officials were from the train struck.

Zelenskyy said Moscow had “deliberately” struck the locomotive . “It is precisely to prevent these strikes from...

Read the original report at The Guardian.