Polish railway track blast an 'unprecedented act of sabotage', PM says

WARSAW (Reuters) -An explosion that damaged a Polish railway track on a route to Ukraine was an "unprecedented act of sabotage", Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday as he vowed to catch those responsible for an incident he said could have ended in tragedy.

The blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line that connects the capital to the Ukrainian border followed a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European countries since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Warsaw has in the past held Russia responsible, saying Poland has become one of Moscow's biggest targets due to its role as a hub for aid to Kyiv. Russia has repeatedly denied being responsible for acts of sabotage.

"The blowing up of the railway track on the Warsaw-Lublin route is an unprecedented act of sabotage aimed at the security of the Polish state and its citizens," Tusk wrote on X.

"An investigation is underway. Just like in previous cases of this kind, we will catch the perpetrators, regardless of who their backers are."

'HIGHLY PROBABLE' ACT OF SABOTAGE

Four government ministers told a press conference there was one confirmed and one "highly probable" act of sabotage, referring to an incident on another part of the route where railway traction was damaged.

Warsaw said in October that Poland and Romania had detained eight people suspected of planning sabotage on behalf of Russia.

Local police said on Sunday that a train driver had reported damage on the railway line, but authorities were not able to immediately confirm that it was a result of sabotage.

"This route is also used to transport weapons to Ukraine," Tusk said in a video address. "Fortunately, no tragedy occurred, but the legal implications are very serious."

Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the military was inspecting a 120 km (74.6 miles) stretch of track leading to the Ukrainian border.

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said that abundant evidence was collected at the site that should allow for the perpetrators to be quickly identified.

The damaged route that passes through the eastern city of Lublin is used by 115 trains daily, the infrastructure minister said.

(Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Alan Charlish; Editing by Frances Kerry and Hugh Lawson and Ed Osmond)