Did Russia Sponsor an Attack on Polish Railways?

2023-08-26 16:32:00

Poland’s special services launched an investigation on Saturday following an attack on the railways’ communications network that “destabilized” partially traffic in the northwest of the country. During the night from Friday to Saturday, unknown persons penetrated the radio communications network of the Polish railways PKP near Szczecin in the northwest of the country by emitting a signal « stop », which caused the stoppage and delays of around twenty trains. Traffic resumed normally following a few hours, according to PKP.

According to media reports, between broadcasts of the signal « stop », railway workers might hear the national anthem of Russia and a speech by President Vladimir Putin. Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine, is the key country for the transit of Western arms to this country. “For the moment, we do not exclude any scenario”, Polish special services spokesman Stanislaw Zaryn said in a statement. He said the special services took the incident very seriously.

“We know that for several months attempts to destabilize the Polish state have been undertaken,” he further told the PAP agency. “Such attempts are undertaken by the Russian Federation in collaboration with Belarus,” he added.

No risk for passengers

The attack on the communication network has “in some way destabilized rail traffic”further indicated Stanislaw Zaryn, adding that she “has not caused any risk to the health and life of passengers (…) and does not pose a danger to rail traffic in Poland”. During the week, Polish railways experienced a series of accidents across the entire network, including two train derailments, which did not cause any casualties. According to the spokesman for the special services, there is no ” no signal “ which links these accidents to the attack on the communications network.