A section of railway track near the Polish town of Mika was damaged by an explosion in November 2025, prompting Polish authorities to investigate what Prime Minister Donald Tusk called an act of sabotage. The incident, which occurred on a key rail line used for both passenger and military aid transport to Ukraine, has raised concerns about escalating hybrid warfare tactics employed by Russia.
Police officer Piotr Pokorski, describing the scene, explained that the explosion damaged a portion of track that a train engineer discovered and reported before a potential derailment. “Fortunately, nobody was injured,” Pokorski said. Polish authorities identified two Ukrainian suspects allegedly hired by Russia, but officials stated they fled to Belarus immediately after the attack. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.
The incident is part of a broader pattern of increased hybrid warfare activities attributed to Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, according to security experts. These activities include cyberattacks, drone interference with airports and infrastructure sabotage, all aimed at undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.
Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesman for the Polish Internal Security Agency, stated that the suspects deliberately targeted a vulnerable point on the rail line. “It was on a viaduct right before a curve in the track,” he said. “Had they succeeded in destroying the track, the consequences would have been serious. Dozens of people could have been killed.” Dobrzynski characterized the attack as a test of Poland’s security response and its ability to uncover evidence.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the accusations, claiming Russia was being unfairly blamed for “all manifestations” of hybrid warfare in Poland and that “Russophobia is flourishing there.”
Dobrzynski’s agency tracks dozens of daily attempts to test Poland’s critical infrastructure, including its energy, transportation, and digital networks. He noted a shift in tactics, from attacks carried out by trained Russian agents to the recruitment of “disposable agents” through messaging apps like Telegram. These recruits are initially tasked with minor activities, such as reconnaissance or vandalism, and are then potentially escalated to more serious acts of sabotage.
In a separate case last summer, a 27-year-old Colombian man was arrested for arson attacks on two construction-supply depots, allegedly after being trained by Russian agents and paid to film the fires for broadcast on Russian state television. The fires were falsely reported as targeting military depots containing aid for Ukraine.
Ulrike Franke, a security expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, suggested that Russia is attempting to influence public opinion in European countries by making these attacks more visible. “The logic being that if the population gets scared and feels like their own security services, police, etc. Isn’t able to counteract these attacks, they may push for a more conciliatory stance towards Russia and maybe become less supportive of Ukraine in their defense efforts,” Franke said.
Franke as well highlighted the increasing use of drones by Russia to disrupt infrastructure in Western Europe, citing numerous drone sightings near German airports last autumn that led to hundreds of flight cancellations. She believes Russia is escalating these attacks to signal its ability to penetrate European defenses.
The question remains as to how Europe will respond to these escalating attacks. Franke cautioned that a more forceful response, potentially invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty, could be triggered if a future attack results in casualties and is definitively linked to Russia. But, she acknowledged that invoking Article 5 does not automatically guarantee a military response.
On February 5, 2026, Prime Minister Tusk visited Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussing Poland’s role in hosting an international conference in Gdańsk in June focused on the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine. The two leaders also discussed deepening energy and defense cooperation. Poland’s finance minister, Andrzej Domański, accompanied Tusk on the visit. Zelenskyy thanked Poland for its ongoing support of Ukraine, both in its defense against Russia and throughout its history since independence.
