Anadolu staff
19 November 2025•Update: 19 November 2025
BERLIN
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for Poland on Tuesday following sabotage on a key railway line but stopped short of directly blaming Russia without seeing the full evidence.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Berlin, Merz acknowledged that preliminary indications point toward Russian involvement but stressed the need for a thorough investigation.
"Of course, it's too early to make a final assessment, but there are some indications as to whose interests such an attack might serve, and the Polish government is probably right in its suspicions," he said.
Merz characterized the incident as part of a broader pattern of Russian hybrid warfare designed to destabilize European nations.
"From my perspective, this fits into a broader pattern of sabotage acts we've seen repeatedly in Germany in recent years, as well as drone overflights and espionage attempts from Russia," he said.
He said he plans to discuss the matter further with Polish officials in the coming days.
"I will ask them if they have any further information about the origin of this attack. However, the suspicion is more likely to be confirmed than refuted," he added.
Macron echoed the call for solidarity with Poland while emphasizing that European allies should maintain their unity and continue supporting Ukraine.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms what happened in Poland, and we express our solidarity with Poland," the French president said.
"Responsibility must, of course, be clarified, but it is clear that this has disrupted and impaired supply chains. We must therefore remain consistent in our support for Ukraine, across all capacity levels," Macron added.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that two Ukrainian nationals suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence were responsible for the sabotage on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line near the village of Mika. He told lawmakers the suspects had fled to Belarus.
