Two Russian missiles hit the Polish village of Przewodów on Tuesday evening. This is reported by the local radio station Radio Zet. Two people had died. The village borders directly on Ukraine. Apparently the missiles are stray missiles. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, 54, convened the Council of Ministers of National Security and Defense for an emergency meeting, a government spokesman said on Twitter. An official confirmation of the incident is still awaited.
According to the AP news agency, a US intelligence official has confirmed that it was Russian missiles that hit Poland. Patrick Ryder, spokesman for the US Department of Defense in Washington, said there is currently no information to confirm Polish media reports of an alleged Russian missile strike. The Pentagon is currently investigating the reports. However, Ryder stressed: “We have made it very clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Moscow calls reports “provocation”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (44) also assumes that the missiles are Russian. He writes that on his Telegram channel. “How many times has Ukraine said that the terrorist state will not be confined to our country,” Zelensky continued. It is only a matter of time before the Russian terror goes much further.
The Kremlin has defended itself against these allegations: the Russian military has dismissed reports of Russian missiles falling on a Polish village as “targeted provocation”. The Ministry of Defense has announced that no targets in the Ukrainian-Polish border area have been fired on. The photos of alleged debris circulated in the Polish media also had nothing to do with Russian weapons systems, it was said.
Missiles hit NATO territory
Unlike Ukraine, Poland is a member of NATO. That could mean that a Russian attack on the Polish village would activate Article 5 of the NATO treaty. It states that an armed attack against one or more contracting parties is considered an attack against all contracting parties. A NATO representative said in Brussels that the reports would be investigated. There is close coordination with ally Poland, it said. As CNN reports, citing European and US military sources, a meeting is underway between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (69) and his Polish counterpart Mariusz Błaszczak (53).
The first high-ranking politicians have already responded to the rocket attacks. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (61) wrote on Twitter that he was very concerned about the latest developments in Poland and Ukraine. “I call for the utmost restraint so that causes and responsibilities can be established.” Cassis expresses his condolences: “My thoughts are with the families of the victims and with all those affected by the attacks.”
Artis Pabriks (56), Minister of Defense of Latvia, also expresses his condolences on Twitter. For him it is clear who is behind the attacks: “The criminal Russian regime has fired rockets not only aimed at Ukrainian citizens, but also landed on NATO territory in Poland. Latvia fully supports our Polish friends and condemns this crime .” The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also concerned: “We are in full solidarity with our closest ally Poland,” the ministry wrote on Twitter. However, the country is also determined to intervene if necessary: ”Estonia is ready to defend every inch of NATO territory.”
A reaction can also be heard from Hungary. Zoltán Kovács (53), State Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Relations, writes on Twitter that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (59) has convened the Hungarian Security Council.
Mass rocket attacks on Ukraine
Russia fired numerous missiles at Ukraine on Tuesday. According to information from Kiev, the rocket attacks were probably the most massive shelling of energy infrastructure since the beginning of the war. The energy situation is critical, it said. According to the authorities, more than seven million households were temporarily in the dark on Tuesday because the electricity failed or had to be cut off. “About 100 missiles were fired on the territory of Ukraine,” Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said. This caused serious damage.
Due to the massive shelling, the Ukrainian air defense also deployed anti-missile missiles. It may therefore also be the case that the incident in Poland is related to this. Carlo Masala (54) of the Bundeswehr University in Munich writes on Twitter that it is probably scrap from two S-300 missiles. These were shot down by Ukraine on its territory.
Fabian Babic
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
