Russian missile strikes Poland
‘Deadly attack on a Nato member is an attack on us all,’ says Zelensky as China and the rest of G20 move to isolate Putin
POLAND stepped up its military readiness last night and Nato prepared to hold emergency talks after Russia was blamed for a missile landing within an alliance member’s territory.
Two people were killed in the explosion at a farm near the Polish village of Przewodow, about four miles inside the country’s border with Ukraine.
Poland’s foreign ministry confirmed that the missile was Russian-made, and summoned the Russian ambassador to give “immediate detailed explanations”.
The incident triggered warnings of a major escalation by Nato allies, and came after Vladimir Putin had ordered a wave of fresh missile strikes against Ukraine.
In response Piotr Muller, a Polish government spokesman, said: “There has been a decision to raise the state of readiness of some combat units and other uniformed services.”
Nato ambassadors were due to meet today, at the request of Poland, under the chairmanship of Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary-general.
Under Article 4 of the alliance’s founding treaty, members can raise any issue of concern, especially relating to security. G20 leaders were also expected to discuss the incident.
Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, spoke to Joe Biden, the US president, and Rishi Sunak by telephone.
Last night, the Prime Minister said: “We are urgently looking into reports of a missile strike in Poland and will support our allies as they establish what has happened.”
Photographs from the scene showed a large crater next to an upturned vehicle. Fire chiefs confirmed the fatalities but said that they had not established the cause of the blast.
The Pentagon, White House and State Department said they could not immediately corroborate the reports, and were gathering information from Poland.
A State Department spokesman said the reports that it was a Russian missile were “incredibly concerning”. He added: “We of course are ready to stand with our Nato allies and partners. But I want to again be very clear, we do not want to get ahead of hypotheticals. We do not know what has happened yet.”
If confirmed, the fatal strike would be the first on Nato territory since the invasion of Ukraine in February. Under Nato’s Article 5, an attack on one member is an attack on all.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said: “To fire missiles at Nato territory, this is a Russian missile attack on collective security. This is a very significant escalation. We must act.
“And I want to say now to all our Polish brothers and sisters – Ukraine will always support you.”
Mr Stoltenberg has previously warned that the alliance would protect “every inch” of its members’ territory.
Russia’s defence ministry last night denied that its missiles had hit Polish territory, describing the reports as a “deliberate provocation”.
Moscow yesterday unleashed its largest ever missile barrage on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. At least 85 rockets were launched in the early evening, leaving more than a dozen cities, including Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv, completely or partially without power. A block of flats in the capital was also left in flames. The strikes came after Russia found itself diplomatically isolated at the G20 summit in Bali.
In a rare rebuke of his Russian ally, Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, said he supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and issued a veiled criticism of Mr Putin’s strategy of destroying energy supplies and making threats to pull out of the Black Sea grain deal.
“We must firmly oppose politicisation, instrumentalisation and weaponisation of food and energy problems,” Mr Xi told the summit.
Mr Sunak is expected to repeat appeals for China to use its influence on Russia when he meets Mr Xi for bilateral talks this morning. No10 said the Prime Minister would seek to engage China on trade, climate change and the Ukraine war while remaining “clear eyed” on human rights. Some senior
Tories expressed concern at the pros- pect of softening the UK’S stance on China, however.
Earlier in the day, Mr Zelenksy told delegates in a video address that Ukraine was ready for peace but would not compromise on its central aim of liberating all occupied territory. Instead he laid out a 10-point peace plan that began with Russia quitting the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“Ukraine has always been a leader in peacekeeping efforts, and the world has witnessed it. And if Russia says that it supposedly wants to end this war, let it prove it with actions,” he said.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister representing Mr Putin in Bali, accused the West of trying to “politicise” the text and said Moscow had proposed an alternative. He called Mr
Zelensky’s peace proposals “unrealistic”. Russian missiles hitting Poland would be a further escalation of the war, Petr Fiala, the Czech prime minister, said yesterday. “We stand firmly behind our EU and Nato ally,” he said.
Dr Justin Bronk, of defence thinktank Rusi, said the missiles could have been fired by either side. “The fragments look consistent with a 5V55 series air defence missile fired by Ukrainian S-300PS/PT and Russian S-300PMU-1/2 SAM surface to air missile systems,” he said.
“It could have been fired either defensively by the Ukrainians trying to intercept incoming Russian cruise and ballistic missiles or offensively as a crude ballistic missile, as Russia has been doing a lot in recent months. Either way, it would appear accidental.”