Poland accused Russia of "an act of state terrorism" on 20 November and announced the deployment of 10,000 soldiers to protect critical infrastructure following a rail explosion that damaged a key supply route to Ukraine over the weekend.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told Parliament that Poland would close Russia's last remaining consulate in the northern city of Gdansk and promised a response that would be "more than just diplomatic," to be revealed in coming days.

"This time, it was not just sabotage, as before, but an act of state terrorism, as the clear intention was to cause human casualties," Sikorski said in a speech to Parliament in Warsaw.

Polish authorities identified two Ukrainian citizens who they believe carried out the attack on Russian orders and then fled the country, along with four Ukrainian accomplices who remained in Poland, according to Polish news site Onet Wiadomosci.

The explosion damaged tracks on the Warsaw-Lublin route, which has been used to deliver aid to Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the incident "an unprecedented act of sabotage."

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Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced the troop deployment under Operation Horyzont, saying soldiers would work with internal affairs ministry services to protect critical infrastructure.

“By utilizing the capabilities of operational forces and Territorial Forces, as well as military equipment and artificial intelligence-based tools, we will protect our homeland even better,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, according to his official statement.

Polish media outlet RMF FM reported that the railway may have been blown up remotely using mobile phones. Law enforcement authorities have seized SIM cards as part of the investigation. According to RMF FM, the two suspects arrived in Poland from Belarus in autumn and fled back after the incident.

Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesman for Poland's security services minister, said the first arrests related to the rail explosion were taking place Wednesday, Polish media reported.

The rail attack marks the most direct confrontation between Moscow and a NATO country since Russian drones violated Polish airspace in September, when some were shot down by NATO aircraft.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the allegations over the train line explosion as "Russophobia."

The escalating tension between Warsaw and Moscow came as Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least 25 people in Ternopil, a city in western Ukraine, on 20 November, Ukrainian authorities said. Dozens more were injured across Ukraine, including at least 15 children. At least three children were among the dead.

Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to the Russian attack, the Polish armed forces operational command said on X. Two German fighter jets deployed as part of a NATO air-policing mission and two Romanian military aircraft also responded after a drone violated Romanian airspace, Romania's Defense Ministry said.

The Russian Defense Ministry described its attacks against Ukraine as targeting rocket launch systems, energy and railway infrastructure, and military deployment sites.

Wieslaw Kukula, chief of staff of the Polish armed forces, warned that attacks on Poland and its NATO allies could intensify in coming weeks. "Longer winter nights would provide more cover and might be seen as an opportune window to strike," Kukula said at a news conference.

The closing of the Gdansk consulate will leave the Russian embassy in Warsaw as Russia's only remaining diplomatic outpost in Poland. Poland shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, where about 1 million Russian citizens live.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the attack on the rail line "highlights the unprecedented risk to European transport infrastructure."

"Russia's attacks have become increasingly brazen," Kallas told reporters in Brussels. "Our critical infrastructure needs more protection."

A senior European diplomat said the blast would be discussed at a meeting of the EU's 27 foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday. "We see these hybrid attacks intensifying against European countries," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. "The problem is it's not always easy to attribute to somebody."

Kallas said it was "up to Poland to attribute," but added, "We have to have a strong response." Europe, she said, needed to "protect our critical infrastructure, send a message of unity to Russia that they cannot get away with these attacks, but at the same time give assurances to our societies that there is nothing to be afraid of."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking from Türkiye where he was discussing attempts to revive peace talks, described strikes around Ukraine since Tuesday evening, including in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk in the west and areas in the east.

"Every brazen attack on normal life shows that pressure on Russia is still insufficient," Zelensky said. "Effective sanctions and assistance to Ukraine can change this."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on 18 November that the alliance was "in close contact with the Polish authorities" but was waiting for the outcome of Poland's investigation.

Poland has confirmed that recent sabotage attempts on rail lines southeast of Warsaw are linked to Russian intelligence. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said two Ukrainian citizens working with Russian services tried to trigger train derailments on the Warsaw-Lublin route, a key corridor for moving Western weapons to Ukraine.

Poland faces "most serious security challenge" as Russia expands sabotage across Europe

Poland’s findings fit with wider warnings from Kyiv and its partners that Russia is stepping up efforts to disrupt European logistics networks that support Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. 

Tusk told lawmakers the incidents mark one of Poland’s most serious security challenges since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Both suspects entered Poland from Belarus earlier this year and later fled back across the Terespol border crossing. One had a previous conviction in Lviv, Ukraine, for sabotage. Their identities are known to investigators but have not been released.

Tusk: military-grade C4 used in one of the attacks

The incidents, near Puławy and Mika, were intended to cause derailments and disrupt supply routes vital to Kyiv. 

The first incident, near Puławy, involved a steel clamp attached to the tracks, designed to derail a train. A mobile phone and power bank were set up as a triggering device, but the attempt failed.

The second attack, on 15 November near Mika, involved a military-grade C4 charge detonated through a 300-meter electrical cable using an initiating device. The explosion damaged the floor of a freight wagon but did not derail the train. Another train passing later had to brake sharply near the site of the blast.

According to Tusk, the attacks were deliberate and intended to create serious disruption. He said that Moscow aims to spread panic, confusion, and anti-Ukrainian sentiment within Poland.

Security tightened on rail lines leading toward Ukraine

Following the incidents, Poland tightened security on rail lines linking Warsaw, Lublin, and Rzeszów, a key transit point for Western military shipments to Ukraine. Territorial defence forces now patrol around 120 km of track, supported by drones and a helicopter.

Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said teams are focusing on bridges, tunnels, switches, and traffic-control systems along the route. Units from the 2nd Lublin Territorial Defence Brigade, including its 25th light infantry battalion, are already deployed.

Tusk noted that Poland has detained 55 people in recent months in cases linked to Russian operations, underscoring Moscow’s ongoing efforts to create fear and instability in the country.

The confirmation of Russian-linked sabotage on rail lines used to supply Ukraine highlights the growing pressure on Europe’s logistics network as the war continues.

Russian forces are trying to trap Ukrainian defenders inside Pokrovsk while moving to encircle the wider Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad pocket from the west, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Fog and road-clearing indicate Russia may use vehicles to speed up clearing Pokrovsk.

Russia pins Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk while pushing to encircle from west

ISW reported late on 17 November that Russian forces may have determined that an encirclement from the west is more feasible than one from the east. Units from the Russian 2nd Combined Arms Army (CAA) and the 51st CAA are attempting to close the ring from the southwest and northeast of Pokrovsk, but both struggle to concentrate forces and achieve major progress. The 51st CAA in particular operates along multiple non-supportive axes—trying to advance north of Pokrovsk, close the pocket, and reduce Ukrainian presence inside it—hindering its effectiveness.

Elements of the 51st CAA are attacking southwest toward Rodynske in an attempt to close the encirclement. Simultaneously, Russian forces northeast of Pokrovsk, including naval infantry likely subordinated to the 8th CAA, are advancing toward Sofiivka and Novopavlivka. Russian forces are also pushing from multiple points around Dobropillia. In response, Ukrainian troops are counterattacking at the base of the salient from both west and east, which ISW says likely aims to blunt Russian efforts to push north.

Ukrainian counterattacks test Russian lines near Dobropillya

Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets reported that Russian forces launched counterattacks near Zapovidne–Ivanivka and Mayak–Nove Shakhove to defend against these Ukrainian moves. ISW notes that Russia likely exploited the Dobropillya axis earlier in 2025 to show signs of momentum ahead of the August Alaska summit. However, a Russian milblogger later admitted the penetration's base was too narrow for logistics, exposing the salient to Ukrainian strikes.

ISW states the 51st CAA has since deprioritized the Dobropillya effort but now faces the dual challenge of defending its eastern flank while advancing to the north and northeast of Pokrovsk. That internal division reportedly weakens the overall push to collapse the Pokrovsk pocket.

Russia pushes on multiple fronts, struggles to collapse pocket

ISW reports that the 2nd CAA is also facing difficulty concentrating forces. Mashovets noted its elements are attacking near Udachne and Kotlyne, southwest of Pokrovsk. This indicates that the 2nd CAA is splitting its efforts between advancing from the west and engaging inside Pokrovsk itself. ISW assesses that Russian forces are trying to fix Ukrainian troops inside Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad to prevent a coordinated withdrawal that could negate a future Russian gain. While the 2nd CAA has made faster progress in the west, it has not yet seized Pokrovsk or collapsed the pocket.

ISW states that Russian troops in this direction have taken some of the heaviest battlefield losses in recent months. Both the 51st and 2nd CAAs are likely degraded, though ISW believes Russia will very likely seize Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad—though the timeline and overall impact remain unclear.

Russia may rely on fog to push troops into Pokrovsk

Mashovets reports that Russian forces are clearing the T-0504 Novoekonomichne–Myrnohrad and O0544 Hrodivka–Myrnohrad roads, east of Myrnohrad, to allow vehicle-borne troops to move in. ISW previously assessed that Russian forces use fog to conceal troop movements, as poor visibility limits Ukrainian drone surveillance and strikes.

Mashovets also notes that small Russian groups are fighting under sub-tactical encirclement conditions in northern Pokrovsk. Ukrainian troops south of the Donetska Railway face similar combat conditions. 

"The inability of Russian small group infiltration tactics to generate sufficient mass to clear Ukrainian forces within Pokrovsk presently will likely force Russian forces to resort to using vehicles during inclement weather conditions to transport large numbers of troops into Pokrovsk," ISW says.

A 6,600 km strike to sever Russia's North Korean lifeline

Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) released a video showing what it says was a sabotage operation that disrupted freight traffic on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia’s Khabarovsk Krai.

The Trans-Siberian line moves military cargo across Russia, including weapons from abroad. HUR has carried out similar operations against rail lines, depots, and supply routes in recent months, aiming to slow Russian logistics far from the front.

According to HUR, an explosion hit the line near the village of Sosnovka, about 6,600km from Ukraine, on 13 November, halting cargo movement along a route used for transporting weapons and ammunition, including supplies from North Korea.

Sabotage proofs followed by a direct threat

HUR said the blast derailed a freight train and damaged the track. The agency described the operation as part of broader efforts to target Russian logistics.

The published video shows the placement of an explosive charge along the rail line and the controlled detonation.

HUR added that Russian security services failed to protect one of the country’s critical transport corridors and said such actions would continue.

Drones struck the Likhovskoy railway area in Russia’s Rostov oblast overnight on 9-10 November, according to Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+. The strike reportedly hit infrastructure near the Likhaya railway station, which sits less than 20 kilometers from the border of occupied Luhansk Oblast and roughly 180 kilometers from the front line.

New strike hits Likhovskoy rail node

Shortly before midnight on 9 November, Exilenova+ published a video of the strike that appeared to show a nighttime explosion near the rail junction in Likhovskoy, a settlement located along the North Caucasus Railway between Moscow and Rostov-on-Don. The footage, filmed from one of the tracks of Likaya station with a locomotive visible on the tracks, captured the distinct sound of a moped-like drone engine followed by two explosions in quick succession. Both blasts occurred in the same area near the station, producing adjacent fireballs. The exact target and the extent of the damage remain unclear.

Militarnyi reports that the area includes a fuel tank farm belonging to the company RN-Rostovnefteprodukt, known as the Likhovskaya oil depot. Its total fuel storage capacity is estimated at 26,400 m³.

Militarnyi suggested the oil depot may have been the intended target, citing its proximity to the blast and visible damage in the shared footage. Coordinates of the depot were also listed: 48.1451255, 40.1594278.

However, Petro Andriushchenko, the head of the Center for the Study of Occupation NGO, said the strike likely hit a traction substation and a control post at the rail facility.

Andriushchenko noted that the attack was the third drone strike on the same site, following previous attacks on 19 July and 2 August.