The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held an emergency meeting on Wednesday after "Russian-made missiles" crossed the Ukrainian border into its member nation Poland, killing two people. The incident has stoked fears that the conflict could escalate as members of NATO are committed to collective defence under Article 5.
According to Polish Foreign Ministry, the rocket fell on Tuesday evening on Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland about six kilometres from the border with Ukraine. The deceased two men were near the weighing area of a grain facility when the missile exploded, reported Reuters.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the missile was a "single act" and there was no evidence of further missiles. According to Polish authorities, it is not clear who fired the missile, but the weapon was "most likely produced in Russia."
"We are working calmly and in a very calm manner," Polish President Andrzej Duda said during an address from the Bureau of National Security in Warsaw. He said the US is sending experts to investigate the site as part of a joint operation.
Russia has refused to take responsibility for the incident. According to Russia's defence ministry, the reports about Russian missiles were "a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation". "No strikes on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border were made by Russian means of destruction," a statement read.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov too added that there was no information on an explosion in Poland.
However, Poland's foreign ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador to explain why a Russian-made missile fell on Polish territory. "In connection with this event, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Zbigniew Rau summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and demanded immediate detailed explanations," ministry spokesperson Lukasz Jasina said in a statement.
The country is also increasing its military readiness of selected units of the Polish armed forces, with particular emphasis on airspace monitoring.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Poland is planning to ask its NATO partners for a meeting under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty. Article 4 allows for any member to seek consultations with the rest of the alliance and states. "The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened," the article states.
Smoke rises in the distance after a missile exploded in eastern Poland, near the border with Ukraine | Reuters
'Unlikely from Russia'
US President Joe Biden has said that it is "unlikely" that the missile was fired within Russia.
On whether it was too early to say whether the projectile was fired from Russia, Biden said: "There is preliminary information that contests that. I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate it. It’s unlikely in the minds of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see," he was quoted by CNN.
Biden, who is in Bali to attend the G20 meetings, had earlier spoken on phone with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Biden is said to have "expressed deep condolences for the loss of life in Eastern Poland earlier this evening," according to a readout from the White House.
He also "reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to NATO" and both leaders agreed to "remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds," the readout said.
Unscheduled meeting at Bali
Joe Biden also met with leaders from the G7 and NATO at Bali where they have converged for the G20 Summit. Besides Biden,
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel attended the meeting.
