The recent acts of sabotage on Poland’s railway network have strongly shaken public opinion. For this reason, in the latest SW Research survey, Poles were asked whether the country should sever diplomatic relations with Russia. Contrary to what one might expect, opinions are divided — though the majority says “yes.”
Between November 15–17, damage was done to the infrastructure of railway line No. 7. Explosive materials were used to destroy a section of the tracks near the village of Mika (Garwolin County), and additional damage occurred near Gołąb (Puławy County). According to investigators, the perpetrators were two Ukrainian nationals who fled Poland after carrying out the operation.
A few days ago, the National Prosecutor’s Office announced that arrest warrants had been issued for Yevheniy Ivanov and Oleksandr Kononov. The two men, aged 41 and 39, are suspected of sabotage on railway routes in the Mazovia and Lublin regions.
It is worth recalling that Niezalezna.pl was the first to publish the identities of the perpetrators. According to publicly available information, both men left Poland immediately after committing the sabotage. Therefore, beyond the national arrest warrants, broader international search efforts will now be required.
Acts of Sabotage in Poland. New Poll Results
Polish public opinion was clearly concerned both by what actually happened on the railway — and what could have happened had the train driver not been alert. A few days ago, in a survey conducted by IBRiS for Rzeczpospolita, respondents were asked: “How do you assess the state’s reaction to acts of sabotage in Poland?” Most of those surveyed expressed a negative assessment.
Now, another research institute — SW Research, commissioned by rp.pl — has examined what Poles think about maintaining further diplomatic relations with Russia.
The question posed was: “In connection with the sabotage on the Warsaw–Lublin railway line, should Poland break off diplomatic relations with Russia?”
42.6% of respondents chose “yes.”
A significantly smaller share — 28.5% — said “no.”
Meanwhile, 28.8% had no opinion on the matter.
Support for severing diplomatic relations with Russia is almost identical among women (42.7%) and men (42.5%). The highest levels of support appear among people with primary or lower-secondary education (48.7%), residents of cities with populations between 200,000 and 499,000 (47.2%), and individuals earning up to 3,000 PLN net (47.5%).
In contrast, the lowest support for such a decisive step comes from respondents under 24 years old — only 36.8% of them back breaking off relations with Russia. Similarly low levels of support appear among residents of towns with up to 20,000 inhabitants (38.5%) and among people earning between 5,000 and 7,000 PLN net (38.6%).
The survey was conducted by the SW Research polling agency among users of the SW Panel online platform between November 25–26, 2025. The analysis covered a sample of 800 internet users aged 18 and older. The sample was selected using a random-quota method.
