Poland blames sabotage for railway blast on Ukraine delivery line

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Monday that an explosion on a section of railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine was an “unprecedented act of sabotage.”

A Polish security official told The Associated Press that authorities are investigating whether the blast on Sunday on the line linking Warsaw to southeastern Poland is connected to Russia, Belarus or their proxies.

Tusk has vowed that Poland will catch the perpetrators, “whoever they are.”

While visiting the site Monday, the prime minister said the incident had taken place on a line that is vital for delivering aid to Ukraine. Polish officials said they were sure an explosive device had been detonated on a section of track between Warsaw and Lublin and later discovered damage to overhead cables on the same line. Both were likely sabotage, Polish officials said.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance is in close contact with Polish officials and is awaiting the outcome of the investigation.

Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by the AP. Moscow's goal, Western officials say, is to undermine support for Ukraine, spark fear and divide European societies.

The likelihood that the two incidents on the railway line happened “on the order of foreign services” was “very high” said Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland's security services minister.

Investigators probing the two cases of suspected sabotage are investigating whether they were deliberate acts by a hostile state, said the Polish security official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

“The perpetrators demonstrated high professionalism and expert training,” they said.

A train driver on the line between the capital, Warsaw and Lublin in southeastern Poland reported problems with the track around 7:40 a.m. on Sunday. Further inspection determined there was damage to a section of track near the village of Mika, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Warsaw, officials said.

“We can say beyond any doubt that an explosive device was detonated, damaging the railway tracks,” Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the explosion and damage occurred late Saturday or early Sunday. Two passengers and several staff members were on the train, but no injuries were reported, officials said.

Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Monday that the army plans to examine 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) of the Warsaw-Lublin-Hrubieszów line, which links the capital to Ukraine by rail and road.

Another train on the Świnoujście-Rzeszów route that travels along the same line was forced to stop Sunday night at Puławy, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Lublin after the overhead electrical cables were damaged, Kierwiński said Monday. Around 60 meters (200 feet) of power lines were damaged, he said. Puławy is situated between Mika and Lublin on the same train line linking Warsaw to the Ukrainian border.

At the time the train stopped, there were 475 passengers on board but no injuries were reported despite the damaged power lines breaking several of the train's windows.

Speaking with Rutte at a press conference in Brussels following the announcement from Poland, Finland's President Alexander Stubb said European nations need to keep “cool heads."

He warned about overreacting to incidents of alleged Russian disruption, warning that, "this is unfortunately the new normal. What Russia is trying to do is to destabilize our societies through information and other campaigns.”

In an interview Saturday at a Finnish military base, Stubb said Moscow is conducting “two types of warfare" — a kinetic war in Ukraine and a hybrid war in Europe.

“The line between war and peace has been blurred,” Stubb said.

Associated Press writer Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, second right, visits site of the rail line Mika, that was damaged by sabotage, near Deblin, Poland, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/KPRM)

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, second right, visits site of the rail line Mika, that was damaged by sabotage, near Deblin, Poland, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/KPRM)

What do you get when Formula 1's most successful car designer takes full control of a team with cutting-edge technology? A dud, apparently.

The big surprise of F1 preseason testing was seeing design great Adrian Newey's radical-looking Aston Martin at the bottom of the time charts, sometimes slower than new team Cadillac.

Aston Martin arrives at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this week fighting just to keep its unreliable car running.

At 44, a year at the back of the grid isn't what two-time world champion Fernando Alonso needs, and the difficulties could potentially cause friction with engine supplier Honda.

Newey has been given full control as team principal in arguably his most hands-on role since he was an engineer for Mario Andretti in IndyCar races in the 1980s. So what's gone wrong?

The big problem is that there isn't one big problem.

The Honda engine seems to lack power, but Aston Martin's exclusive works relationship with the Japanese auto giant means there's no other team with a Honda engine to compare it with, or learn from.

Alonso showed great faith in Newey during testing in Bahrain last month, but was more careful with his language about Honda.

“On the chassis there is no doubt. We have the best with us," he said. "After 30-plus years of Adrian Newey dominating the sport I think no one will doubt that we will find a way to have the best car eventually.

“On the power unit, we need to wait and see when we unlock all the performance, where are we, what is missing, and then work hard.”

The Aston Martin is also unreliable and undercooked after arriving late to the first test and missing valuable time due to breakdowns.

Battery problems limited testing time in Bahrain as Honda worked on the issue. Aston Martin also seemed to have gearbox trouble and a shortage of parts.

Is Aston's problem not enough Newey?

After agreeing on his exit from Red Bull, Newey had to wait until March 2025 before starting at Aston Martin, at first as “managing technical partner.”

That was after other teams were already well under way with their 2026 work. Newey has talked of working long days and said in November that his wife Amanda complained he was in a “design trance” and unsociable.

“What limited processing power I have is all concentrated on the task in hand, given these pressing deadlines, but that’s not a state to stay in for too long,” he added.

Newey still sketches out ideas on a drawing board to explore design concepts and has access to brand-new facilities built at great expense by Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll.

Newey is also skeptical about handing over key design processes to AI. “Even with AI advancing as rapidly as it is, we’re a long way off,” Newey said in November. “It really depends very heavily on human ideas and that really is, I suppose, the essence of Formula 1. That ability to conceptualize, to react quickly and to be self-critical.”

Long before he was an F1 great, Newey shuttled between Britain and the United States in the mid-1980s designing Indianapolis 500-winning cars and getting his hands dirty preparing them trackside for greats like Mario Andretti, his son Michael and Bobby Rahal.

It was a punishing schedule, but all the red-eye flights gave Newey time to develop concepts which later revolutionized F1 design.

“I look back at my ideas now and I can pinpoint which ones I did over the Atlantic,” he wrote in his 2017 autobiography.

Newey's designs transformed F1, winning 12 constructors' titles and 13 drivers' championships from Nigel Mansell's 1992 win with Williams to Max Verstappen's fourth in a row with Red Bull in 2024.

Newey's exit from Red Bull that year followed 18 years at the team, after record-breaking dominance for his RB19 design the year before, and as the team faced uncertainty around then-team principal Christian Horner and star driver Max Verstappen.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

FILE - Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey smiles in the paddock prior to the start of the sprint qualifying at the Lusail International Circuit ahead of the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix, in Lusail, Qatar, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)