Krzysztof Szczerski said investigators had concluded that explosions last weekend, including damage to a stretch of the Warsaw-Lublin line used to transport humanitarian aid and UN supplies to Ukraine, were deliberate attempts to cause a major rail disaster and put many lives at risk.
He described the attacks as the most serious acts of sabotage against Poland since the start of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Szczerski told the UN Security Council on Thursday that the suspects were Ukrainian nationals, and that one had previously been convicted in Ukraine for carrying out sabotage on behalf of Russian intelligence services.
He added that Russian state media were seeking to cast the incidents as a Ukrainian provocation and that disinformation had accompanied the events.
Szczerski asserted that the sabotage ran counter to US-led diplomatic initiatives aimed at pursuing peace and argued that Moscow continued to prefer war to negotiation, despite heavy Russian losses and mounting economic problems at home.
He said Poland would continue to support Kyiv, press for a ceasefire and contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction, and he urged other countries to strengthen assistance and tighten sanctions against Russia.
The Polish UN envoy warned that acquiescing to Moscow’s demands would amount to accepting "imperialist, neocolonial" claims that would strip Ukraine of sovereignty and reinstate "spheres of influence."
He called on the international community to resist such intimidation, identifying Russia as the sole aggressor in the conflict.
(ał/gs)
Source: PAP