A “Russian-made missile” has fallen on the Polish village of Przewodów, which is near the border with Ukraine, Poland’s foreign ministry has confirmed, after a deadly explosion there killed two people this morning.
The statement did not say who fired the missile, and both sides in the conflict have used Russian-made munitions.
Poland’s foreign ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador to explain why a Russian-made missile landed on Polish territory, killing two people, a ministry spokesman said.
In this Russian defense brochure, missiles can be seen being fired at locations in Ukraine. (AP)
A Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s power grid has sent war into neighboring countries this morning.
A senior US intelligence official told the Associated Press that a Russian missile had landed on Polish territory.
Officially, the US has yet to confirm any findings from the incident, while Russia has denied that the missiles that attacked Poland came from them.
The strikes plunged much of Ukraine into darkness and prompted defiance from President Volodymr Zelenskyy, who shook his fist and declared: “We will survive everything.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, has condemned the attack in Ukraine and described as “deeply worrying” the information about missiles falling on Polish territory.
“We again call on Russia to withdraw its forces and end its illegal and immoral war,” he said on Twitter.
Russia’s defense ministry has denied targeting the border and described Polish media reports as “deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation,” according to a brief statement.
“Statements by Polish media and officials about the alleged fall of ‘Russian’ missiles in the area of the Przewodow settlement are a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation,” he said, adding that “it is not have strikes”. made on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border”.
He added that photos of remains published by Polish media “from the scene in the village of Przewodow have nothing to do with Russian weapons.”
The US government has so far held back on official confirmation.
“We have seen these reports out of Poland and are working with the Polish government and NATO partners to gather more information,” a US State Department spokesman said.
An image circulating online purports to show the site of the deadly missile impact in Poland. (Katerina Sergatskova/Twitter)
“We cannot confirm the reports or any details at this time, but I can assure you that we will determine what happened and what the appropriate next steps would be.”
Polish media reported that two people were killed late Tuesday after a projectile hit an area where grain was being dried in Przewodów, a Polish town near the border with Ukraine.
A photo showing the site of the missile impact shows an overturned tractor trailer and a crater on the ground.
Strikes in Poland could lead to a significant escalation of the conflict, given that the country is a member of NATO.
The alliance will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning local time in Brussels, Belgium, chaired by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also spoken with his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau, Łukasz Jasina, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry and US State Department officials confirmed.
Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks tweeted his “condolences to our Polish brothers in arms. Russian criminal regime fired missiles that not only target Ukrainian civilians but also landed on NATO territory in Poland. Latvia fully stands by Polish friends and condemns this crime.”
The president of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, said he was concerned by the news and that “Lithuania stands in solidarity with Poland”.
“Every centimeter of NATO territory must be defended!” has added on social networks.
There has been no confirmation from the Polish authorities that the Russian missiles landed on Polish territory.
Another NATO member, Estonia, called the reports “most worrying”.
Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on Twitter: “The latest news from Poland is very worrying. We are consulting closely with Poland and other allies.
“Estonia is ready to defend every inch of NATO territory. We stand in full solidarity with our close ally Poland.”
Neighboring Moldova was also affected. It reported massive power outages after strikes knocked out a key power line supplying the tiny nation, an official said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a group of 30 North American and European nations. According to NATO, its purpose “is to ensure the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.”
The alliance was created in 1949 as a response to the start of the Cold War. Its original purpose was to protect the West from the threat posed by the Soviet Union. Since the end of the Cold War, many former Soviet nations have joined NATO, much to the chagrin of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A damaged building is seen at the scene of Russian bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko) (AP)
The best-known aspect of the alliance is Article Five of the treaty, which, if invoked, means “an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all allies.”
Article five has only been invoked once, in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.
Former US ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker said the “worst thing” the alliance could do was to remain silent in the face of the missile attack in Poland.
“I don’t think we should be that surprised, with Russia launching all these attacks against Ukraine, they could accidentally hit Poland, and that, I think, is what happened,” he told CNN.
“But that being said, this is unacceptable.”
Putin must be approached by NATO over Polish missile attack, former ambassador says. (AP)
Article four of the NATO treaty mandates members to meet if an ally has security concerns.
Volker said NATO needed to demand an explanation from Russia and would “ideally” get a response to say the missile that landed in Poland was an accident.
Russian silence, or an alternative response, should see NATO tell Moscow that any further attack would prompt a “proportionate response”.
“The worst would be silence on the part of NATO,” he said.
Defense strategy expert Dr Malcolm Davis told Today that Russia must claim responsibility.
“Everybody understands that these are Russian missiles from Russia,” he said.
“I guess they were fired against Ukraine, but they went wide and hit Poland.
“The best thing the Russians could do would be to admit their mistake and de-escalate as quickly as possible.”
Ukraine is facing a dark and cold winter
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired at least 85 missiles, “most of them at our energy infrastructure,” and cut power to many cities.
“We are working, we will restore everything. We will survive everything,” the president vowed. Its energy minister said it was “the most massive bombing” of electrical facilities since the Russian invasion nearly 9 months ago.
The minister, Herman Haluschenko, called the missile attacks “another attempt at terrorist revenge” after the Kremlin’s military and diplomatic setbacks. He accused Russia of “trying to cause maximum damage to our energy system on the eve of winter.”
The airstrike, which left at least one person dead in a residential building in the capital, Kyiv, followed days of euphoria in Ukraine over one of its biggest military successes: last week’s recapture of the city of Kherson, to the south.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented on the Kherson withdrawal since his troops withdrew in the face of the Ukrainian offensive. But the impressive scale of Tuesday’s strikes spoke volumes and hinted at anger in the Kremlin.
By striking targets in the late afternoon, just before dusk began to fall, the Russian military forced rescue workers to work in the dark and gave repair crews little time to assess the damage in daylight of the day.
People receive humanitarian aid in the central square of Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (AP)
At least a dozen regions reported strikes.
Zelenskyy said there could be around 20 more strikes. He urged people to stay safe and seek shelter.
“Most of the strikes were recorded in the center and north of the country. In the capital, the situation is very difficult,” said a senior official, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, calling on Ukrainians to “hold on”
As battlefield losses mount, Russia has turned to Ukraine’s power grid in recent months, hoping to turn the approach of winter into a weapon by leaving people in the cold and in the dark .
The windows of an apartment building are illuminated during a blackout in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko) (AP)
Among the regions where officials reported strikes were Lviv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Rivne in the west, and Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in the northeast. Several missile attacks also hit Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to its mayor, Oleksandr Vilkul.
In Kyiv, a video released by a presidential aide showed a five-story, apparently residential building on fire, with flames licking up the apartments. The city’s mayor said three residential buildings were hit and air defense units shot down other missiles.
Residents gather during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Kherson, southern Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Ukraine’s recapture of Kherson was a significant setback for the Kremlin and resulted in six weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the Kherson region. and three other provinces in southern and eastern Ukraine in violation of international law and declared them Russian territory. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) (AP)
Klitschko added on his Telegram social media channel that doctors and first responders are being…