- NATO members are meeting in Brussels to discuss how to respond to a member state becoming involved in Russia’s war.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 90 Russian missiles were launched against Ukraine on Tuesday.
- The majority of rockets fired by Russian forces were intended against energy infrastructure.
After a missile strike killed two persons on a farm close to Poland’s western border with Ukraine, Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, declared that there are no indications of an intentional attack.
US Vice President Joe Biden had already stated that it was “unlikely” that the missile had been launched from Russia.
The two employees perished as Ukraine came under attack from one of the war’s heaviest volleys of missile strikes.
The Kremlin had maintained that it was unrelated to their demise.
The missile that struck the farm in Przewodow, 6 kilometres (4 miles) from the border, was initially attributed to Russia, according to Poland.
Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Western nations of having an exaggerated response and claimed Warsaw should have made it plain right away that the debris was from Ukraine’s S-300 air defenses.
Both Russia and Ukraine employ the outdated Soviet surface-to-air missiles, and Kiev declared its desire to participate in the probe while also indicating that it was prepared to present proof of a “Russian trail” in the attack.
According to media, Ukraine’s air defenses have been working hard to shoot down Russian missiles, and one of the missiles that was fired may have been thrown off course.
The NATO ambassadors gathered in Brussels during the investigation to discuss how to respond to a member state becoming involved in Russia’s war.
No evidence, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, suggested that the incident was the product of a planned strike or that Moscow was contemplating aggressive measures against the defensive alliance.
However, he said that “Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine”, adding: “Let me be clear, this is not Ukraine’s fault.”
According to Kiev, more than 90 Russian missiles were launched against Ukraine on Tuesday. Some of the missiles struck Lviv, which is close to Ukraine’s western border with Poland, despite the Ukrainian military’s claim that 77 were shot down.
The majority of the rockets fired by Russian forces, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, were intended against the nation’s energy infrastructure.
After the explosion, Poland’s military was placed on high alert.
The S-300 missile, which was built in Russia, was most likely to blame, but there was no proof that it had been fired by the Russian side, according to Polish President Duda, who said this at a press conference on Wednesday. Invoking Article 4 of the NATO charter, which mandates consultations in the event of a security danger, may not be required, according to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Western leaders at the Bali summit issued a declaration denouncing Russia’s “barbaric missile attacks” on the towns and civilian infrastructure of Ukraine and pledging their unwavering support for its neighbour Poland.
President Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were among those in attendance.
Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, stated previously that any assertion that Ukraine was to blame for the killings of Poles was a “conspiracy theory” from Russia and that anyone propagating the accusation was disseminating “Russian propaganda.”
A big crater and a farm trailer that was lying on its side in a police photo from the Polish grain farm where the rocket fell suggested missile damage. A missile fragment was depicted in a different picture.
The settlement, which is in a rural region of southeast Poland, has a small primary school right next to a police cordon, according to media reporter.
Nato has been cautious not to get too deeply involved in the crisis in order to prevent an escalation, while providing assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s incursion.
Gitanas Nauseda, the president of Lithuania, demanded on Wednesday that NATO air space be protected and declared that he would actively support the installation of air defenses on both the Polish border with Ukraine and the remainder of the alliance’s eastern flank.
Berlin will back Poland’s air defenses, a German spokeswoman said, but all NATO partners agreed they wanted to prevent further escalation.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he had spoken to Polish President Duda and the military alliance was “monitoring the situation”.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres also said he was “very concerned” by the Poland explosion and called for a thorough investigation.
“It is absolutely essential to avoid escalating the war in Ukraine,” said his spokesman, Farhan Haq.
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