Polish prosecutors charge two Ukrainians over rail sabotage
Polish prosecutors have filed charges against two Ukrainian nationals suspected of recent acts of sabotage targeting a Polish railway line, the spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office has said.
The charges follow two incidents over the weekend along the railway line connecting Warsaw with the Dorohusk station on the border with Ukraine. An explosive device damaged the tracks in one attack and, in another, damaged infrastructure forced a train carrying 475 passengers to make an abrupt emergency stop.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that authorities had identified two Ukrainians as the perpetrators, alleging they acted on instructions from Russian special services.
On Wednesday, Przemyslaw Nowak said said investigators had gathered evidence indicating "a very high probability" that the direct perpetrators were two Ukrainian citizens, identified as Oleksandr K. and Yevheri I. (surnames withheld under Poland's privacy law).
He specified that the suspects faced charges of "committing acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature on behalf of the intelligence services of the Russian Federation against the Republic of Poland... creating a threat of a catastrophe in land traffic and using explosives - crimes punishable by life imprisonment."
However, Nowak added that "legal proceedings cannot currently move forward because the suspects fled Poland between Saturday and Sunday, crossing into Belarus."
He also said the evidence collected includes findings from on-site examinations, items recovered at the scenes, witness testimony and surveillance records.
On Wednesday evening, National Prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk told the private television station TVN24 that prosecutors had filed two motions with a Warsaw court requesting pretrial detention for the two suspects who fled to Belarus. The step, he said, paves the way for issuing an international arrest warrant and possibly an Interpol Red Notice.
Korneluk added that the perpetrators were being sought not only in Belarus but "everywhere possible, so that they can be brought to justice in Poland."
Earlier on Wednesday, Jacek Dobrzynski, the spokesman for Poland's special services coordinator, confirmed that several other people linked to the sabotage had been detained by Polish security agencies.
He declined to provide further details to reporters, saying that the investigation was still ongoing.
"I can confirm that the first arrests are already being made," Dobrzynski told journalists. "People involved are being detained by the ABW (Internal Security Agency - PAP) and police. At this stage I can't give you any more details."
"These individuals are currently under interrogation, and the involvement of specific individuals in this terrorist attack is being determined... Arrests are still in progress. We do not exclude the possibility of additional detentions," Dobrzynski said, noting that the individuals were being apprehended on Polish soil. (PAP)
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