Russia has carried out airstrikes on railway facilities in western Ukraine, close to the border with Poland.

Reports have emerged suggesting that a train carrying the former prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Sweden narrowly avoided the attack.

In a statement issued on local time, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, "We targeted railway infrastructure facilities in western Ukraine used for transporting military cargo from European countries."

The ministry added that precision-guided air-launched weapons and attack drones were also used to strike a military logistics center and substations in Odesa, as well as a substation in Mykolaiv.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the Volyn region, located just two kilometers from the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing connecting Ukraine and Poland, was targeted in the airstrike, the Ukrainian daily Kyiv Post reported.

The impact of the strike damaged the locomotive of a passenger train heading to Warsaw, and a fire broke out at a gas station, spreading to cargo trucks.

While the border checkpoint facilities did not sustain direct damage, operations were suspended while air raid sirens were in place, prompting travelers to evacuate.

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "While it was not our train, a train following closely behind us at the border crossing was attacked." He added, "Passengers evacuated as a drone approached, and no one was injured."

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was traveling on the same train as Bildt, also took to Instagram to condemn the attack as "indiscriminate and senseless."

The two former leaders were reportedly returning from a visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Reuters reported that Ukrainian railway authorities stated, "As the threat of Russian attacks persisted, train schedules were adjusted in real time, and this 'diplomatic train,' which departed earlier than originally scheduled, may have been the intended target of the Russian drones."

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski condemned the situation as an act of "escalation" by Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, "Putin's terror has directly targeted the doorstep of the European Union and NATO," adding, "Russian barbarians have reached your doorstep."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)