Poland deploys 10,000 troops, closes Russian consulate after rail blast blamed on Moscow

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.