NATO and Poland officials both said that the missile strike in Polish territory that killed two people appeared to be unintentional and was likely launched by air defenses in neighboring Ukraine.
“Ukraine’s defense was launching their missiles in various directions, and it is highly probable that one of these missiles, unfortunately, fell on Polish territory,” said Polish President Andrzej Duda. “There is nothing, absolutely nothing, to suggest that it was an intentional attack on Poland.”
Poland’s foreign ministry said that the Russian-made missile fell on the Polish village of Przewodów, which is near the border with Ukraine, killing two farm workers. Polish authorities said it was probably an old S-300 rocket made in the Soviet Union. “It is highly probable that it was fired by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense,” he also said during a joint news conference with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Polish prime minister also told his citizens and lawmakers that Poland was safe amid Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine, saying: “We have very strong external support. The most powerful military alliance in history stands behind us: NATO.”
NATO says no indication it was a Russian attack
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, after a meeting of the 30-nation military alliance in Brussels, echoed the preliminary Polish findings.
The investigation continues but “we have no indication that this was the result of a deliberate attack and we have no indication that Russia is preparing offensive military actions against NATO” Stoltenberg said.
“Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks. But let me be clear: this is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine” he emphasized.
The comment by the military alliance’s chief was aimed at defusing tensions since a deliberate missile strike by Russia on NATO member Poland could have risked drawing NATO into the conflict. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, disputed them and asked for further investigation.
White House says Russia ‘ultimately responsible’
The White House on Wednesday blamed Russia for the missile blast in Poland this week, saying that regardless of what the investigation into the incident finds, Russia is ultimately responsible for it.
“We will continue to assess and share any new information transparently as it becomes available. We will also continue to stay in close touch with the Ukrainians regarding any information they have to fill out the picture,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.
“That said, whatever the final conclusions may be, it is clear that the party ultimately responsible for this tragic incident is Russia, which launched a barrage of missiles on Ukraine specifically intended to target civilian infrastructure. Ukraine had — and has — every right to defend itself,” she added.
G7 summit on Poland blast
U.S. President Biden convened an emergency meeting of NATO and G7 leaders on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, to discuss the explosion in eastern Poland and address their concerns about a significant escalation in Moscow’s nine-month war on Ukraine.
The leaders of the European Union, the U.S., UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain condemned the “barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure” and offered “full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.”
The Group of 20 summit in Bali concluded with a leaders’ statement that “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine.”
Speaking after the closing of the summit, Indonesian President and G20 host Joko Widodo told a news conference that “world leaders agreed on the content of the declaration, namely condemnation to the war in Ukraine” which violates its territorial integrity. “This war has caused massive public suffering, and also jeopardizing the global economy that is still vulnerable from the pandemic, which also caused risks for food and energy crises, as well as financial crisis. The G20 discussed the impact of war to the global economy,” he said.
