Polish Railway Sabotage on the Cheap
Recent disruptions in Poland's train system—whether caused by technical glitches, hooligan thrills or “destabilizing a state”—highlight the vulnerability of the infrastructures on which we all rely
In late August 2023, multiple disruptions on Polish railroads fueled anxiety over Poland’s security and its ability to channel NATO support to Ukraine’s war effort. In the incidents, perpetrators used low-tech equipment to send “radio-stop” signals activating the trains’ emergency brakes. Were these part of a sophisticated sabotage operation, or merely malicious mischief?
Hot Summer for Poland
It has been a hot summer for Poland, a country at the front-line of NATO support for Ukraine’s war effort. After Russian mercenary leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s failed mutiny in Russia in June, his Wagner troops decamped to Russian-allied Belarus and began training local troops there, near the Polish border. Poland massed an additional 1000 troops on its border with Belarus. On July 23, Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenka told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Wagner troops were spoiling for a fight with the West; he paraphrased them as saying in effect, “Let us take a little excursion to…
