Poland warns Putin is preparing for war with NATO after railway line is blown up in ‘unprecedented act of sabotage’

A Polish general has warned that Russia is preparing for war against NATO after a railway line to Ukraine was damaged in an ‘unprecedented act of sabotage’.

Wieslaw Kukula, Chief of General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, said that Russia had ‘begun the period of preparation for war’ and that ‘they are building an environment here aimed at creating favorable conditions for potential aggression against Polish territory’.

A Russian military attack on Poland would trigger a response under NATO’s Article 5; This will probably lead to a Third World War. General Kukula added that Russia is currently engaged in a ‘pre-war situation, or what we call hybrid warfare.’

He was quoted as saying: ‘Putin is creating a certain atmosphere here that aims to undermine public confidence in the government, key structures such as the armed forces and the police, and create conditions conducive to potential aggression against Polish territory.’

Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna warned in Washington that the clock was ticking for Russia’s military machine to directly threaten NATO countries.

Vladimir Putin has warned that ‘in two to three years or less’ he will return to our Baltic borders with more troops and military equipment than before the full-scale invasion.

The Kremlin dictator’s aim was to ‘conquer Ukraine, dominate its immediate surroundings, divide the West and push the USA out of Europe’.

The statements came a few days after an explosion caused damage on the Warsaw-Lublin line connecting the Polish capital to the Ukrainian border.

A key railway line connecting Warsaw with southeastern Poland was damaged by the explosion, which the prime minister described as “an unprecedented act of sabotage”. Picture: Special forces and police investigate the scene of a destroyed section of railway tracks near Mika train station

While Polish authorities confirmed an act of sabotage over the weekend and a second incident were likely to be sabotage, officials warned that the attack may have been ordered by foreign intelligence services.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hinted that Russia was suspected of involvement and said that the perpetrators would be caught ‘regardless of who their supporters are’.

A train driver first reported irregularities on the track at around 7:40 local time on Sunday, and an inspection revealed a damaged section near Mika, about 62 miles southeast of Warsaw.

Officials said it was unclear whether the explosion occurred late Saturday or early Sunday.

Officials said there were two passengers and several staff members on the train, but no injuries were reported.

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski confirmed that a second train was also damaged on Sunday and that the incident was being investigated.

A train on the Swinoujscie-Rzeszow route was forced to stop about 31 miles from Lublin on Sunday night because overhead electrical cables powering the train were damaged, Mr. Kierwinski said in a statement.

There were 475 passengers on board, but no injuries were reported.

Deputy interior minister Maciej Duszczyk called against jumping to conclusions about the identities of the perpetrators, “because Russia is not so strong that every arson, every such situation is provoked by Russia.”

But Mr Duszczyk also told Polsat television that “this cannot be ignored or ignored in any way”.

Mr Tusk promised that Poland would ‘catch the perpetrators, whoever they are’.

A Ukrainian official blamed a specific Russian military unit for the sabotage.

‘This is a sabotage unit of the Russian GRU responsible for carrying out operations abroad. “NATO countries are among their priority targets,” he said.

The explosion followed a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European countries since the start of the war in Ukraine.

A train on the Swinoujscie-Rzeszow route was forced to stop about 31 miles from Lublin on Sunday night due to damage to overhead electrical cables powering the train. Picture: Polish State Railways workers repair railway lines on the traction network in Pulawy, eastern Poland

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who visited the region on Monday, said the line was “vital for delivering aid to Ukraine” and confirmed that part of the Warsaw-Lublin route near the village of Mika was destroyed in the explosion.

Warsaw has held Russia responsible in the past, saying Poland had become one of Moscow’s biggest targets due to its role as an aid hub to Kiev.

Russia has repeatedly denied responsibility for acts of sabotage.

The train incidents occurred as Russia’s FSB security service was called in to investigate a massive explosion at a key gas artery in the Omsk region, 2,330 miles east of Moscow.

The footage shows the spectacular explosion and mushroom cloud that emerged during repair work on the gas pipeline in Rostovka, in the suburbs of Omsk.

Hours after the explosion, a powerful inferno flared up and the flames rose 130 ft into the sky.

It was initially unclear whether the cause was an accident or sabotage during repairs.

“The reasons are being investigated by law enforcement agencies,” regional governor Vitaly Khotsenko said, urging residents to “keep calm.”

A 17-year-old girl, who was seriously injured in Russia’s missile attack on Berestyn in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, died in the hospital where she was taken. Nine more people were injured.

Russia is also believed to have targeted a gas power plant.

The city of Dnipro was shaken by 20 large explosions and pensioners were injured.

With Ukraine’s strike, a large part of the Russian-occupied Donetsk People’s Republic was plunged into darkness for the second day.

Two thermal power plants were decommissioned: Zuyevskaya near the city of Zagreb and Starobeshevskaya in Novy Svet.

Putin’s puppet leader Denis Pushilin said residents of the region had their electricity and heating supplies interrupted.

The strikes appear to be revenge for Russia’s repeated attacks on power plants in Ukraine in recent days and weeks.