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Two people were killed on Tuesday after a Russian-made rocket landed in an eastern Polish village.
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Poland is a member of NATO, which operates on the principle of collective defense.
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Poland said on Wednesday it was “very likely” that the missile was an air defense weapon fired by Ukraine.
Two people were killed on Tuesday after a rocket landed in an eastern Polish village. This sparked global concern over an incident in NATO territory amid Russia’s largest barrage of missiles in its war against neighboring Ukraine. The incident is seemingly the first time Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has crossed Ukraine’s borders into the territory of a NATO member.
The missile landed in the village of Przewodów, located in eastern Poland a short distance from Ukraine’s western border, and reportedly came amid a barrage of more than 90 Russian missiles targeting Ukraine’s infrastructure.
On Wednesday, a statement from the Polish president’s office said it was “very likely” that Ukraine had launched the surface-to-air missile in response to the Russian barrage and that “we currently have no evidence” that the Russian… S-300 missile was fired by Russian forces.
Following Tuesday’s incident, the country’s prime minister called an emergency defense committee meeting. Russia denied reports that its weapons had landed in Poland, while the state-run TASS news agency reported they had “a deliberate provocation”.
A spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement that a “missile of Russian manufacture” fell in the region and that an ambassador of the Russian Federation has been asked to provide an immediate explanation.
Sources: CNN report (location of the attack), Google (image)
Graphic: Renée Rigdon, CNN
The damage shifts attention to the NATO alliance, which has repeatedly warned it will defend its allies’ territory against Russia. Poland is a member of NATO, which operates on the principle of collective defense enshrined in Article 5 of the Alliance’s founding treaty. Under this agreement, an attack on one NATO country is considered an attack on the entire military alliance. But Article 5 has only been used once in NATO’s history, after the terrorist attacks against the US on September 11, 2001.
Article 5 states that NATO members will assist the attacked party or parties by taking “promptly, individually and in consultation with the other parties, such measures as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to to restore and maintain the security of the North. Atlantic area.”
It is unclear what caused the Russian missiles to land in Poland, which could have a major impact on how the alliance reacts.
The US and its Western allies have repeatedly warned Russia that an attack on NATO territory would provoke a strong response.
“Under Article 5, we have a sacred obligation to defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective might,” President Joe Biden said in March.
White House National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson said Tuesday afternoon that “we have seen these reports from Poland and are working with the Polish government to gather more information. We cannot confirm the reports or details at this time. We will determine what happened and what the appropriate next steps would be.”
Echoing these comments, Pentagon spokesman Brig. General Patrick Ryder said at a news conference that the US “is aware of the press reports claiming that two Russian missiles hit a location in Poland near the border with Ukraine. I can tell you that at this time we have no information to confirm those reports and investigate further.”
Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters he didn’t think the apparent strike was intentional.
“I have to believe it was a mistake by Russia,” he said, according to The Washington Post’s Liz Goodwin. “And I think if it is, Russia should come out real quick and say that.”
The Polish Foreign Ministry and NATO did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider. The Russian government also did not respond to an investigation.
The incident immediately prompted remarks from top officials in neighboring countries.
“My condolences to our Polish comrades-in-arms. The criminal Russian regime fired missiles that not only targeted Ukrainian citizens, but also landed on NATO territory in Poland. Latvia fully stands with Polish friends and condemns this crime,” Latvia’s defense minister said on Twitter.
A Hungarian government spokesman said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would also convene a meeting of the country’s defense council in response to “the missile hitting the territory of Poland”.
The incident comes after Russia fired a barrage of missiles through Ukraine on Tuesday, leaving half of Kiev’s population without power.
@ Insider
