Ukraine-Russia war latest: Boris Johnson condemns Putin’s ‘warped logic’ after his train escapes drone attack

Former prime minister Boris Johnson has hit out at Vladimir Putin after his train was involved in a near miss with a Russian drone close to the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday.

“I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning,” Johnson said, shortly after he returned from a security conference in Kyiv.

A diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, Carl Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had deliberately left the station at Yahodyn ahead of schedule and the foreign dignitaries were on their way back from the conference when a drone struck the line behind them.

A passenger train behind the diplomatic service was damaged in the strike. It had already been evacuated due to intelligence on an impending attack, and no one was harmed.

A drone also hit the engine carriage of a train near the Yahodyn crossing point earlier on Sunday.

Boris Johnson had a close shave with Russian drones hitting Ukraine yesterday after he was alerted that the train behind him was forced to evacuate due to a drone attack.

“I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning. 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 1700 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 €140bn in a Belgian bank account - and about £10bn 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,” the former PM said.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when 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.

Ukrainian forces have managed to wipe out nearly all of Russia’s territorial gains made inside Ukraine since March 2026 through major counteroffensive operations on several sectors of the front, a US-based think tank has said.

According to an assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the battlefield operations by Ukraine have reduced Russia’s net territorial gains to almost zero, citing the counteroffensive operations in Kupiansk, Oleksandrivka, and Lyman directions, disrupting several Russian operational objectives.

These operations have also prevented Russian forces from advancing further into the Dnipropetrovsk region, it said, adding that the fighting eliminated a significant Russian contingent that had threatened the northern flank of Sloviansk and Ukraine’s broader defensive belt in the Donetsk region.

Civilians were killed and injured yesterday as Russia and Ukraine continued to attack each other with waves of drones.

Two people were killed in Russia’s Tatarstan, according to local officials, while Ukrainian authorities reported Russian drone attacks on the Black Sea port of Odesa and a fire near a border crossing with Poland.

Two people were killed and 12 more injured on Sunday as Ukrainian drones struck Nizhnekamsk, a city in Tatarstan, according to the office of regional head Rustam Minnikhanov.

The two civilians died after a drone slammed into a tree near their parked car, the statement staid.

Nizhnekamsk houses a key cluster of oil refineries and petrochemical, rubber and polymer plants, including some of Russia's largest facilities of their kind. Mayor Radmir Belyaev said that a fire had broken out “at one of the city’s enterprises,” without giving detail.

Boris Johnson has hit out 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 after another passenger train behind his was forced to evacuate near Yagodyn, 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 the route was frequently used by foreign delegations returning from Kyiv, but Mr Johnson was not evacuated or delayed by the incident. Sources told The Independent none of the “VIP” trains with European officials were involved in the attack.

A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine- Poland border on Sunday shortly after senior visiting officials, including the former prime ministers of the UK and Sweden, passed through, Ukraine’s state rail operator said.

According to Ukrzaliznytsia, a diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, Carl Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had purposely left the station at Yahodyn ahead of schedule. The visitors were on their way back from a security conference in Kyiv.

“It is highly probable that the Russian drone ’s intended target was in fact the diplomatic train, which had departed the station earlier than scheduled,” the company said in a Telegram post.

Another train, with former CIA director David Petraeus on board, was still at Yahodyn station when the drone struck, according to Ukrzaliznytsia.

Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions on a former press secretary yesterday, accusing her and nine others of spreading Russian propaganda and of supporting Russia's aggressive policy toward Ukraine.

Yuliia Mendel, who ⁠worked with Zelensky from 2019 to 2021, before Russia's invasion, responded with a message on Facebook saying it was unconstitutional to impose sanctions on Ukrainian citizens. She did not comment on the ⁠specific accusations.

Mendel has given interviews criticising Zelensky's record since last year, when a number of members of the president's inner circle became embroiled in corruption scandals.

The suspects have denied the charges that have not been tested in court.

The sanctions were announced by Zelensky in a decree stating that they would last for 10 years and included asset freezes ‌and restrictions on trade, the document read.

US president Donald Trump called on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage.

He spoke after diesel prices in the US hit a record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average.

Trump was asked by a reporter if he had spoken with Zelensky following his recent conversation with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He responded by calling on Zelensky to halt strikes against Russia.

“Mr Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the Irish Open, which is being played at his Doonbeg golf club.

“We spoke to Mr Zelensky about it. There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel, because that’s hurting, that’s hurting the world,” he said.

Canada is in talks to back ⁠a €90 billion ($104 billion) European Union loan for ⁠Ukraine, ​and the two ⁠sides hope to ⁠agree on ​the ⁠North American ‌country's contribution before an EU ‌summit in Montreal ‌at the end ⁠of October, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions on ​a former press secretary on Sunday, accusing her and nine others of spreading Russian propaganda and of supporting Russia's aggressive policy toward Ukraine.

Yuliia Mendel — who ⁠worked with Zelensky from 2019 to 2021, before Russia's invasion — responded with a message on Facebook saying it was unconstitutional to impose sanctions on Ukrainian citizens. She did not comment on the ⁠specific accusations.

Mendel has given ​interviews ⁠criticising Zelensky's record since last year, when a number of members of the president's inner circle became ⁠embroiled in corruption scandals. The suspects have denied the ​charges ⁠that have not been ‌tested in court.

The sanctions — announced by Zelensky in a decree — would last for 10 years and included asset freezes ‌and restrictions on trade, the document read.

They ‌were an unusual measure to use against a former member of staff, though they have been used against political figures.

In 2025, Ukraine ⁠imposed sanctions on former president and opposition politician Petro Poroshenko, including an asset freeze and a ban on withdrawing capital from the country, for what the domestic spy agency said were "national security" reasons.

Sunday's order "imposes restrictions on 10 Russian and Ukrainian individuals who spread disinformation and Russian propaganda and support ‌Russia’s aggressive policy toward Ukraine. Yuliia Mendel is ​among those sanctioned," the presidency said in a statement.

Mendel, ‌Zelensky's first press secretary ⁠after he became president, wrote on Facebook that ⁠she had been expecting the move.

"Sanctions against Ukrainian citizens are unconstitutional, as are ‌many of Zelensky's ​other decisions," she added. "Volodymyr ‌Zelensky is imposing them on ​anyone who advocates for peace in Ukraine."