NATO member Poland and the head of the military alliance said on Wednesday that a missile attack on Polish farmland that killed two people appeared to be unintentional and was likely launched by air defenses in neighboring Ukraine.
At the time, Russia was bombing Ukraine. in an attack that devastated its power grid. "The Ukrainian defense fired its missiles in different directions, and it is very likely that one of these missiles, unfortunately, fell on Polish territory," said Polish President Andrzej Duda in.
There's nothing, absolutely nothing. to indicate that it was a deliberate attack on Poland. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg repeated Poland's preliminary results at a meeting of the 30-nation military alliance in Brussels.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy questioned her and called for a more thorough investigation. Ukraine. Had Russia targeted Poland, it could have risked drawing NATO into the conflict. However, Stoltenberg and others generally, but not specifically, blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war. This is not Ukraine's fault.
Russia bears the final responsibility,” said Stoltenberg. Zelenskyy told reporters he had "no doubt" about a report he received from his top commanders "that it wasn't our missile or our missile attack." Ukrainian officials should have access to the website and take part in the investigation, he added. "Let's say frankly, if, God forbid, any remnant (of the Ukrainian air defense) killed a person, these people, then we have to apologize," he said. "But first there must be a problem access we want to get data it has."
On Tuesday, he called the attack "a very significant escalation." Ahead of Poland and NATO's assessments, US President Joe Biden said it was "unlikely" Russia would launch the missile, but added, "I'll make sure I find out exactly what happened," a spokesman for the agency said Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow said no Russian attack occurred within 35 kilometers (22 miles) of the Ukraine-Polish border on Tuesday, praised Biden's "moderate and much more professional response.
We witnessed another hysterical, insane and Russophobic reaction that was not based on real data," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Later on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry ordered the Polish ambassador to Moscow; The discussion should have lasted about 20 minutes. Three US officials said preliminary assessments indicated the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an approaching Russian missile.
Officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. That assessment and Biden's comments at the G20 summit in Indonesia contradicted information last Tuesday from a senior US intelligence official who told The Associated Press that Russian missiles had entered Poland. The Polish president said the missile was likely a Russian-made Soviet-era S-300. he seized many more Russian weapons as he repulsed the invading Kremlin forces.
Russia's attack on power generation and transmission facilities on Tuesday encompassed Ukraine's western region, which borders Poland. Ukraine's military said 77 of the more than 90 missiles fired were shot down by air defenses, along with 11 drones. The bombardment of the entire country with cruise missiles and the explosion of drones clouded the first picture of what was happening in Poland. "It was a huge explosion, the sound was terrifying." said Ewa Byra, principal of the elementary school in the eastern town of Przewodow , where the rocket struck.
He said he knew the two men killed: one was the husband of a school employee and the other the father of a former student. Another resident, Kinga Kancir, 24, said the men worked in a barn. drying plant. "It's very difficult to accept," he said. “Nothing happened and suddenly there is a worldwide sensation. In Europe, NATO members called for a thorough investigation and criticized Moscow.
"This would not have happened without the Russian war against Ukraine, without the rockets that are now being fired intensively and on a large scale at the Ukrainian infrastructure," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. air raid. Zelenskyi said about 10 million people lost power but tweeted overnight that 8 million were later reconnected. Previous attacks had already destroyed about 40% of the country's power infrastructure. Ukraine said the bombing was by far the largest on its power grid.
A Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of Warfare, said Ukraine's firing of so many Russian missiles on Tuesday "shows the improvement in Ukraine's air defenses over the past month," which is being bolstered by systems from the West .
Sweden said on Wednesday that a munitions-powered air defense system would be part of its latest and largest package of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine worth $360 million. Another resident, Kinga Kancir, 24, said the men worked at a grain drying plant. "It's very difficult to accept," he said. "Nothing happened and suddenly there is a worldwide sensation.
In Europe, NATO members called for a thorough investigation and criticized Moscow. "This would not have happened if it weren't for the Russian war against Ukraine, without the missiles that are now being fired intensively and on a large scale at Ukraine's infrastructure." said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Large parts of Ukraine were without electricity after the air raid.
Zelenskyi said about 10 million people lost power but tweeted overnight that 8 million were later reconnected. The previous attacks had already destroyed approximately 40% of the country's energy infrastructure.
Ukraine said the bombing was the largest ever on its power grid. A Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said Ukraine's launching of so many Russian missiles on Tuesday "demonstrates the improvement over the past month in Ukraine's air defenses," which are backed up by western-supplied systems, Sweden said on Wednesday that an air defense system with munitions would be part of its latest and largest package of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, worth $360 million
SOURCE AP