Poland claims that a “Russian-made” missile has hit its territory along the Ukrainian border, killing two people | International

Poland points to a “Russian-made missile” as responsible for the explosion that killed two people on Tuesday in Przewodow, six kilometers from the border with Ukraine. The Polish Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador to Warsaw and has demanded “immediate detailed explanations,” according to a brief statement. The Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has called for calm and, without giving further details or specifying where the projectile came from, has stated that the authorities are working to establish the causes of the explosion. The Government of Poland, which has held an emergency meeting of its Security Council due to a “crisis situation”, is also preparing to put its troops on alert, will increase surveillance of its airspace and is “verifying” if it needs to activate Article 4 of NATO, of which Poland is a member. That article states that the allies will consult when the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened. “Let’s not let ourselves be manipulated, we must be guided by moderation and prudence,” Morawiecki insisted.

NATO is analyzing what happened “in close collaboration” with the Polish government, according to a spokesman for the Atlantic Alliance, of which Spain is also a member. “It is important that what happened be determined,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg cautiously remarked on Twitter. The military alliance has convened an extraordinary meeting of ambassadors on Wednesday to discuss the incident in Poland, which has aroused anxiety in the West. The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, who has spoken with Stoltenberg, has stressed that the case is still under investigation. “We don’t have conclusive evidence at the moment about who launched the missile,” he said.

A senior US official quoted by the Associated Press news agency has assured that the explosion was due to the impact of a Russian missile, but the Pentagon has stressed that it cannot corroborate reports that Russian rockets have crossed the border with Poland. “We are taking the information very seriously,” said a Pentagon spokesman, who has insisted that the event is under investigation.

The US State Department, which is also working with Warsaw on the case, considers the event “extremely worrying” and will decide what steps to take based on the investigation. Meanwhile, countries such as Latvia, Slovakia and Ukraine have directly targeted, although without providing evidence, the forces of Vladimir Putin. “Russian missiles hit Poland,” said Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky. Russia denies this and has defined the incident as a “deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation”. The member countries of the Atlantic Alliance have been quick to show their support for Poland.

If it is confirmed that the explosion in Polish territory is linked to the Russian attacks on Ukraine, the incident could lead to a major escalation, since it would be the first attack with fatalities against a member of NATO and the EU. The Alliance would have to decide their level of reaction. In March, when several Russian drones crashed in NATO territory after invading the airspace of the alliance countries, there was little follow-up on the issue beyond stressing that what happened was being investigated.

The blast coincides with the day that Russia has subjected Ukraine to the heaviest missile barrage in the nine months of war, a shower of missiles on several cities that follows the withdrawal of troops from the Kremlin from Kherson. Russian missiles have targeted mainly energy facilities and caused widespread blackouts in many parts of Ukraine.

With the Ukrainian border so close, some analysts have pointed to the possibility that the explosion was caused by a stray Russian missile or the remains of a projectile shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft batteries and even some fragments of these. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba has assured that the explosion in Poland was not caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile.

The Russian Defense Ministry has accused Warsaw of stirring up tension with the incident. “The statements by the Polish authorities and media about the alleged drop of ‘Russian’ missiles in Przewodow are a deliberate provocation to escalate the situation,” the department headed by Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a statement. Moscow has assured that it has not attacked targets near the border between Ukraine and Poland and has insisted that the fragments found in the area, and whose photographs have been disseminated in the local press and on social networks, “have nothing to do with with Russian weapons.

Hours before, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrúshev, had urged to improve the protection of the central district of Russia “with anti-aircraft and counter-battery defenses” in the face of the possibility of alleged “terrorist attacks”. The high official assured, shortly before the massive bombing of Ukraine, that his special services had detained Ukrainian saboteurs on his territory.

The information about the explosion in Poland has caused the alarm of the Twenty-seven. Especially in the members of NATO, in the Baltic countries, with borders with Russia, and in the states closest to the Eurasian giant. Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks has attributed the explosion to the impact of Russian missiles. “My condolences to our brothers in arms,” ​​he said on Twitter. “The criminal Russian regime fired missiles that targeted not only Ukrainian civilians, but also landed on NATO territory in Poland. Latvia fully supports the Polish friends and condemns this crime, ”he added. Latvia, in addition, has demanded that the Atlantic Alliance provide air defenses for Poland and “part of the territory of Ukraine”, which would mean a change of pattern in the war. Until now, NATO, which has tried at all costs to avoid an escalation with Russia, has refused.

Also Slovakia’s Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad has targeted Moscow. “We are very concerned about the fall of Russian missiles in Poland. Russia must explain what happened. Senseless attacks on infrastructure must stop immediately. Russia’s recklessness is out of control,” Nad said on Twitter.

Estonia has described the information about the explosion as “very worrying”. “We are consulting closely with Poland and other allies. Estonia is ready to defend every inch of NATO territory. We fully sympathize with our close ally Poland,” the Estonian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on social media. Lithuania is also looking at the situation very closely. “Every inch of NATO must be defended,” said its president, Gitanas Nauseda.

The supportive reactions of the members of the Alliance have followed one another while the governments of the EU countries are waiting for information from Warsaw to analyze the situation. Also the high representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, is in close contact with his counterparts on the situation in Poland, according to a spokesman. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has remarked that he is “shocked” by the news of “a missile or other type of ammunition” that has killed two people in Poland.

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