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Qabil Ashirov

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A fire broke out at a petrol station and near several parked trucks early Sunday after debris from a Russian drone fell close to the Yahodyn border crossing between Ukraine and Poland, Ukrainian officials said.

The incident occurred during a Russian aerial attack on Ukraine, prompting the temporary suspension of operations at the border crossing and the evacuation of people to shelters during an air raid alert.

Valentyna Chernysh, a spokesperson for Volyn Customs, said the Yahodyn crossing suspended all operations while the alert was in force, with people taking shelter for safety.

Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, said there had been no direct strike on the Yahodyn checkpoint itself. However, several facilities in the vicinity of the border were targeted, including a petrol station and railway infrastructure.

“Those crossing the border should be aware that the enemy may target checkpoints, including those on borders with EU countries,” Demchenko said, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

The affected crossing is also known as the Yahodyn–Dorohusk border crossing, one of Ukraine's key road links with Poland and the European Union.

Polish Armed Forces command said fighter jets were scrambled overnight in response to the Russian aerial attack on Ukraine, amid heightened security along Poland's eastern frontier.

The attack also affected railway infrastructure near the border. Ukraine's state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said a Russian strike hit a passenger train locomotive approximately two kilometres from the Polish border.

The train crew had been warned in advance by a monitoring group, allowing the locomotive to be stopped. No injuries were reported.

The incident prompted a strong reaction from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who said Russia's attacks near the Ukrainian-Polish border demonstrated the growing proximity of the war to NATO and EU territory.

“Russia's barbaric strikes on the Ukrainian-Polish border checkpoint Yahodyn are not just a continuation of its attacks on our state borders. This is Putin’s terror ‘knocking’ directly at the doors of the EU and NATO,” Sybiha wrote on X.

He urged European leaders and Ukraine's international partners to respond with tougher sanctions against Moscow.

Sybiha called for what he described as the “full force of sanctions” against Russia, including a complete trade embargo, a total entry ban and comprehensive sanctions against Russia's military-industrial complex.

“Putin must understand that his barbarism will meet a decisive response, one that will raise the cost of war to an unacceptable level for him,” the minister said.

The latest incident comes as Russia continues its intensified aerial campaign against Ukraine, with repeated air raid alerts affecting border crossings and other civilian infrastructure.

Ukraine's State Border Guard Service has warned that border operations may have to be suspended whenever air raid alerts are declared, citing the need to protect travellers, border personnel and other civilians.

The attack near Yahodyn is particularly significant because of the crossing's location on Ukraine's border with Poland, an EU and NATO member. Although Ukrainian officials said the Yahodyn checkpoint itself was not directly struck, the incident brought the effects of Russia's aerial campaign close to the territory of the European Union.

The deployment of Polish fighter aircraft in response to the overnight attack further underscored the heightened security environment along NATO's eastern flank.