Boris Johnson hits out at Putin after near miss with Russian drone

Boris Johnson has hit back at Vladimir Putin after a Russian drone targeted the railway line he was travelling on.

The former prime minister was alerted at 5am on Sunday as he returned from a security conference in Kyiv and told to prepare for an evacuation after another passenger train behind his was attacked in Volyn, near the Polish border.

In a post on X, Mr Johnson wrote: “I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning.”

It is understood that Mr Johnson was not evacuated or delayed by the incident but an ordinary passenger train was vacated. Ukrainian Railways service Ukrzaliznytsia said no one was injured in the attack on the locomotive.

He continued: “What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day – even on civilian railways. So far Putin has been responsible for the deaths of 1,700 staff of Ukrzaliznytsia – Ukrainian Railways. They and their daily passengers are absolutely heroic.

“When are we going to give them the air defences they need? Why won’t we unfreeze Putin’s cash and give it to Ukraine? There is more than €140 billion in a Belgian bank account – and about £10 billion in London. Britain could show a lead.

“The Ukrainians are going to win – that much was clear from the last three days in their wonderful country. But we will get this dreadful war over much faster if we all get serious and give them what they need and deserve.”

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, back with Mr Johnson was in power, he has remained a close ally to the Ukrainian people. As prime minister, he was one of the first world leaders to offer humanitarian and military support to Ukraine.

Since leaving office, he has remained outspoken in his support for Ukraine in the fight against Vladimir Putin.

The attack on the passenger train was one of a number of strikes along the border, with a Polish ‌border guard spokeswoman claiming a Russian drone struck near the Ukrainian-Polish border in the small town of Yahodyn overnight, less than a mile from the Polish border.

Ukraine operates several border ‌crossings with Poland, through ⁠which a significant proportion of the ⁠military and humanitarian aid from its allies is delivered to ‌the country.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha condemned Moscow’s “barbaric strikes” on the Ukrainian Polish border on Sunday.

"Russia's barbaric strikes ⁠at the Ukraine-Poland ​border in Yahodyn ⁠are not just a continuation of its attacks on our state borders," ⁠Sybiha said on X.

"This is Putin's ​terror ‘knocking’ ⁠directly on the doors ‌of the EU and NATO. Russian barbarians are at your gate, dear partners," he added.

More follows on this breaking news story. Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent