Ukraine, Palazzo Chigi sources: European advisers were not on the train hit by a Russian drone
Venues for the forthcoming negotiations are being considered. Moscow strikes a train and a service station on the border with Poland
Key points
A number of officials from various European countries, including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, were evacuated at around 5 am as a precautionary measure from a train taking them to Poland from Kyiv, where they had taken part in the YES (Yalta European Strategy) international security conference on Saturday. This was reported by the German newspaper *Der Spiegel*, which referred to security advisers from “Britain, Germany, France and Italia, members of the German Bundestag, diplomats and scientists”.
The Ukrainian state railway company has confirmed that former CIA director David Petraeus and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were on a train before Russia attacked a civilian train at Yahodyn railway station in the Volyn region of Ukraine. This was announced in a statement by the Ukrainian rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia, as reported by RBC Ukraine. “Thanks to the rapid response of the railway staff, there were no casualties or injuries amongst the passengers and staff,” reports RBC Ukraine, citing the statement. It later emerged that, shortly before the locomotive was hit, a diplomatic train was at the same station. On board were security advisers from various EU countries and former European politicians, including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The private train was near the Polish border, where another train had been attacked by Russian drones. After the train came to a halt due to the drone alert and the crew woke the passengers to evacuate the train, the all-clear was given to continue the journey as no further drones were detected, explains the German newspaper.
Palazzo Chigi: European advisers were not on the train struck by a Russian drone
The European security advisers, including the Italian Fabrizio Saggio, who had travelled to Kyiv to attend the ‘Yalta European Strategy’ conference (YES), were not on board the train, whose locomotive was struck by a suspected Russian drone near the Polish border, sources at Palazzo Chigi have clarified, following the report published by Der Spiegel. According to the sources, the advisers were travelling on a later train, which was forced to stop following the attack but subsequently resumed its journey. There is therefore no cause for concern regarding the European security advisers.
The Interviews
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping offered to help find a solution to the situation in Ukraine during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, India. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to reports in the Russian media. “During the bilateral talks, Modi and Xi asked detailed questions about a solution in Ukraine and actively offered their good offices to help find a solution. Putin welcomed their willingness to help and provided a detailed account of the situation,” Peskov added.Meanwhile, Moscow is hoping for a new round of trilateral talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine in the near future, according to comments made by Peskov to the newspaper Izvestia, whilst the US President’s special envoy, Jared Kushner, stated that the main obstacle to reaching an agreement to end the war remains Ukraine’s refusal to cede the territories claimed by Vladimir Putin, according to the Ukrainian newspaper Pravda.
