On the 13th, a railway line connecting Ukraine to Poland was struck by a Russian drone; former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was aboard the train, narrowly escaped harm. In a column for the Daily Mail, he described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s escalating attacks on Europe as the actions of a “rat backed into a corner”—a desperate gamble born of a fight for survival.
Johnson, who has written a column for the Daily Mail since leaving office in 2022, wrote that the attack on the passenger train revealed a “rat backed into a corner baring its teeth.” Putin will eventually be forced to back down; therefore, the greater the pressure European nations exert now, the sooner that moment will arrive.
Johnson stated that Putin would inevitably “squeal like a rat” and accuse the West of deliberately escalating the situation—accusations Putin has leveled at every stage of the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, Johnson pointed out that Putin is the instigator of this war of aggression and could end the conflict tomorrow if he chose to do so.
The 22nd Yalta European Strategy (YES) annual conference was held on September 11–12 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Attendees included dignitaries such as Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt; former CIA Director David Petraeus; and senior national security officials from European nations, including Jonathan Powell (National Security Adviser to the UK Prime Minister), Emmanuel Bonne (Diplomatic and National Security Adviser to the French President), Günter Sautter (Foreign and Security Policy Adviser to the German Chancellor), and Fabrizio Saggio (Diplomatic and National Security Adviser to the Italian Prime Minister).
According to a statement from the state-owned railway company Ukrzaliznytsia and accounts given to various media outlets by informed sources, participants departed Ukraine by train after the conference. Near the Ukraine-Poland border, the rail network was struck by a Russian jet-powered drone; a passenger train locomotive was caught in the blast, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of passengers.