Former CIA Director, David Petraeus, was at a Ukrainian railway station near the Polish border on Sunday when a Russian drone struck a passenger train, according to Ukrainian Railways.
Petraeus was aboard a separate train at Yahodyn station, roughly two kilometres from the Polish border, when the attack occurred.
The strike came shortly after a diplomatic train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other European dignitaries had departed the station.
The diplomatic train, which also carried European security officials and former leaders, left Yahodyn ahead of schedule because of the “constant threat of Russian strikes,” Ukrainian Railways said. It had already crossed into Poland when the drone attack took place.
Ukrainian Railways said it was continuing to investigate the incident but added that it was “quite likely” the Russian drone had deliberately targeted the train carrying the officials.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack, describing it as “Putin’s terror ‘knocking’ directly on the doors of the EU and NATO.”
Russian authorities said, however, that their forces had been targeting railway infrastructure in western Ukraine used to transport military supplies from European countries.
Johnson also condemned the strike, saying he did not know “what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive.”
He added, “What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day – even on civilian railways.”
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt was also travelling near the Polish border when the incident occurred.
He said the train that was hit was not his, but another train that passed through the area minutes after his had gone through.
Petraeus and the European officials had been in Kyiv for the Yalta European Strategy security conference.
The attack came amid increased Russian strikes near the Polish border, including an earlier attack on a gas station in Yahodyn that temporarily disrupted the border crossing.
