There are indications that the missile that hit the eastern Polish village of Przewodów came from Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said this on Wednesday during an emergency meeting with NATO and G7 countries at the G20 summit in Indonesia. Two people died on impact. The United States says the missile was likely fired to intercept an incoming Russian missile over the Polish border area.
Earlier, three US security officials told the news agency anonymously ap.
Biden claims it is a Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile. He had previously stated that the missile was probably not fired by Russia. “There’s preliminary information disputing that. I don’t want to say until we investigate thoroughly, but it’s unlikely. But we’ll see.”
The US president says the US and NATO countries are thoroughly investigating the incident before taking action. US and NATO support Polish investigation into blast. “We will find out exactly what happened,” Biden says. Only then can we jointly decide how to proceed, he stresses.
The meeting was attended by leaders from the United States, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom.
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Missile impact is sensitive due to NATO agreements
A rocket landed in the Polish village of Przewodów on Tuesday. It is located on the Polish-Ukrainian border, about 100 kilometers from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Two people died in the rocket impact.
The incident is delicate because it involves missiles that land in a NATO country. Member States are obliged to help each other in the event of an attack. But there’s a difference between a deliberate attack and deflected missiles. Poland has not (yet) labeled the incident as an attack on NATO territory.
The Polish government has committed NATO on the basis of Article 4 of the NATO treaty. With this, Poland makes it clear that it feels threatened and that mutual consultation is needed. The following Article 5 states that an attack on one NATO country is considered to be an attack on all NATO allies.
In response to the missile attack, Poland has increased the military readiness of several army units and is strengthening airspace security. This was announced by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday after the crisis consultations.
