Concerns about hybrid warfare in Europe have been increasing for some time now. Sabotage, hacker attacks, interference, drone flights. From the countries on the Eastern side of the Alliance to Italy, there were many episodes in which, more or less clearly, Moscow’s influence was felt, although never explicitly or stated. The latest episode actually occurred in one of the countries closest to the front line, which was most afraid of the expansion of the conflict and immediately took the front line in favor of Ukraine, Poland. A bomb exploded on the railway line connecting Warsaw to Lublin, destroying the tracks and complicating train traffic. “Unfortunately, the worst suspicions have been confirmed, this was an act of sabotage,” condemned Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The accident was reported on Sunday morning after a passenger train driver noticed a section of track missing, triggering an investigation. The route chosen to carry out the sabotage was no coincidence: it was actually a route used in part to facilitate the delivery of aid to Ukraine. “Most likely they wanted to blow up a train on that line,” Tusk added, explaining that other similar accidents had also been recorded on the same train line. Polish Security Minister Tomasz Siemoniak confirmed the incident and other attacks, speaking about “a new phase of threats to railway infrastructure”, explaining that some parts of the ongoing investigation are confidential because “we are dealing with the intelligence services of a foreign country, and not with a group of scrap metal thieves”, thus pointing the finger directly at Russia. A fact that Kiev is in no doubt about. “This could be another joint attack by Russia, to test its response. If true, the response must be strong,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, expressing solidarity with Warsaw.
While the Polish investigation continues, Prime Minister Tusk has called a meeting of the national security committee today which will be chaired by Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Wadysaw Kosiniak-Kamysz in the presence of military commanders, heads of security services and presidential representatives. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also took a stand in this episode. “The threats to our security are real and growing. Europe must urgently strengthen the capacity to protect our skies and infrastructure. Poland is Europe’s biggest defense spender and will be the biggest beneficiary of the Security instrument,” he said. Meanwhile Defense Minister Guido Crosetto launched a call: “EU member states must join forces to confront hybrid attacks.”
Meanwhile, there are also concerns in Romania. Authorities in Bucharest decided to evacuate a village near the border with Ukraine after a Russian drone strike in southern Ukraine set fire to a ship carrying liquefied gas. Ukraine’s Danube ports are frequent targets of Russian attacks, prompting several warnings in neighboring Romania.
“Due to the ship’s proximity to Romanian territory and the nature of its cargo,” authorities explained, the evacuation of the village of Plauru, on the other side of the Danube from the Ukrainian port city of Izmail, was ordered. Another sign of how all of Europe, especially countries on the Eastern side, are being asked to increase their vigilance.
