Biden backs Poland’s investigation of missile
Poland said yesterday that a Russian-made missile fell in the country’s east, killing two people, though US President Joe Biden said it was ‘‘unlikely’’ it was fired from Russia.
The blast, which Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy decried as ‘‘a very significant escalation,’’ prompted Biden to call an emergency meeting of G7 and Nato leaders. A deliberate, hostile attack on Nato member Poland could trigger a collective military response by the alliance.
But key questions around the circumstances of the missile launch remained amid the confusion caused by a blistering series of Russian airstrikes across the nearby border in Ukraine, none larger than who fired it. Russia denied any involvement in the Poland blast.
Three US officials said preliminary assessments suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian one amid the crushing salvo against Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
That assessment and Biden’s comments at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia contradict information earlier from a senior US intelligence official who told the AP that Russian missiles crossed into Poland.
The Polish government said it was investigating and raising its level of military preparedness. Biden pledged support for Poland’s investigation.
A statement from the Polish Foreign Ministry identified the weapon as being made in Russia. President Andrzej Duda was more cautious, saying that it was ‘‘most probably’’ Russian-made but that its origins were still being verified.
Biden’s decision to convene the emergency meeting upended schedules for the final day of the Group of 20 meeting in Indonesia.
Biden, who was awakened overnight by staff with the news of the missile while attending the summit, called Polish President Andrzej Duda to express his condolences. On Twitter, Biden promised ‘‘full US support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation,’’ and ‘‘reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Nato’’.
Meanwhile, Nato SecretaryGeneral Jens Stoltenberg called a meeting of the alliance’s envoys in Brussels. The UN Security Council also planned to meet for a previously scheduled briefing on the situation in Ukraine.
Poland’s statement did not address whether the strike could have been a targeting error or if the missile could have been knocked off course by Ukrainian defences. In their statements, Poland and Nato used language that suggested they were not treating the missile blast as an intentional Russian attack, at least for now. A Nato statement called it a ‘‘tragic incident’’.
If Russia had deliberately targeted Poland, it would risk drawing the 30-nation alliance into the conflict at a time when it is already struggling to fend off Ukrainian forces.
Polish media reported that the strike took place in an area where grain was drying in Przewodow, a village near the border with Ukraine.
The Russian Defence Ministry denied being behind ‘‘any strikes on targets near the UkrainianPolish border’’.
The strike came to light as Russia pounded Ukraine’s energy facilities with its biggest barrage of missiles yet, striking targets across the country and causing widespread blackouts.
The barrage also affected neighbouring Moldova. It reported massive power outages after the strikes knocked out a key power line that supplies the small nation, an official said.
The missile strikes plunged much of Ukraine into darkness and drew defiance from Zelenskyy, who declared: ‘‘We will survive everything.’’ – AP