Russia hits train in Ukraine after Boris Johnson, top European officials leave station | BBC News

A Russian drone has struck a train on Ukraine's border with Poland shortly after the UK's former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and some of Europe's most senior security advisers passed along the same line. Video on social media shows clouds of black smoke rising

from the locomotive and passengers fleeing in panic. Now, Ukraine's railway authority said it was quite likely that Moscow had targeted the diplomatic train. Ukraine's foreign minister said the Russian threat was now knocking directly on the door of the EU and NATO.

Well, let's go live to our diplomatic correspondent James Landale, who is in Kyiv. James, just update us on what we know about this over the last couple of days there's been a big conference here in the center of Kyiv.

Uh, it's an annual event uh, and uh, an awful lot of VIPs have been in town to discuss with the Ukrainians and others what the next phase of this war can be, what else the the Western powers can do to support this country in its, you know, what

is now its fifth year of war against the Russian invaders. But then that conference finished yesterday and a lot of people were on a special uh, train that had been organized by the conference to take everybody west from here

out through through Poland and then on to wherever they wish to go. And the thing is is that that train uh, followed a very, very familiar route, the same route that um, other world leaders take when they leave Ukraine.

It's the same route that US envoys took uh, themselves last weekend when they came here from Moscow and then back out again. So, this is a familiar route. Um, it's not secret, people know where it is.

And this train passed through the border and then an hour later a Russian drone struck a train in the station. And the the train operator says that it is quite likely that Russia was targeting that special diplomatic train simply

because it left the station about an hour earlier than it otherwise would have done because of the threat of attacks and the disruption to the the timetable as a result of all of that. Now, the point about this is that you know, this

was an extraordinary group of people on this train. This was not just, you know, well, the the four of the most senior security advisers in Europe today from the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. People who are absolutely at the heart of their countries'

negotiations on Iran, on this issue here in Ukraine. And they were the the the station that they passed through was targeted just an hour um in after they had passed. And now, what this shows, I think, is a that

Russia's new tactic of targeting not just trains, but also border positions. In recent days, there've been attacks on the border with Romania, with Moldova. There's a pattern forming here as part of a broader

escalation that is taking place at the moment. And secondly, what is interesting is this is General David Petraeus, the former US CIA chief, was also at this conference. He was on a slightly different train, but he was

at that station just outside when the attack took place. And he's been quoted by the FT tonight saying that he now believes that this was a deliberate attempt by the Russians to try to close that western border to deter western visitors coming here to Ukraine.

And if that is the case, that is definitely a new development. >> Yes, and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk holding an emergency meeting to discuss these developments, James. It is in that sense an escalation near that border

and it must be a concern to both Poland and the wider EU and NATO. >> Well, that of course is that you're absolutely right is the other point. The fact that these attacks are happening so close to