WARSAW, Nov 22, (Xinhua): Poland has launched a special operation to protect critical railway and road infrastructure following recent sabotage on major rail lines, Polish media reported. Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed an order Thursday evening authorizing Operation Horizon, which involves up to 10,000 troops from various branches, including the Territorial Defense Forces, Special Forces, Cyber Defense, engineering and drone units.

The mission was announced in response to the recent rail sabotage allegedly committed by two Ukrainians cooperating with Russian intelligence, according to local media. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Tuesday that the alert level on some sections of the country's railway network would be raised to "Charlie," the second-highest designation.

The accusations against Russia over the railway incident are "completely baseless and unfounded," Russian news outlet RIA Novosti cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Wednesday.