US President Joe Biden has said the missile that struck a village in Poland killing two people was probably not fired from Russia.
His remarks followed a hastily arranged meeting of G7, NATO and EU leaders on the margins of the G20 meeting in Bali in response to the incident, which has raised concerns about a wider escalation of the war in Ukraine.
“We agreed to support Poland’s investigation into the explosion,” Mr Biden told reporters after the hastily arranged gathering.
“We’re going to make sure we figure out exactly what happened … and then we’re going to collectively determine our next step.”
Asked if the missile had been fired from Russia, Mr Biden said there was “preliminary information that contests that”.
“It’s unlikely… that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see.”
Latest reports suggest the missile could have been a Ukrainian air defence missile targeting an incoming Russian attack.
NATO is holding emergency talks on the incident this morning.
Diplomats said talks had begun at allied headquarters in Brussels, after a NATO spokeswoman had earlier said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would chair the meeting on “this tragic incident”.
It follows a night of fast-paced global consultations and reactions to reports that missiles had killed two farm workers near the village of Przewodow, about 10km from the Ukrainian border.
An initial report by the Associated Press, citing an unnamed US intelligence official, said the missiles were Russian, prompting a flurry of alarmed contacts given that Poland is a NATO member.
As a munitions team travelled to the site, the Polish government held an emergency meeting and announced that its military was in a state of readiness.
In Washington, the Pentagon would not corroborate reports that Russian missiles were involved.
President Biden spoke by phone to Polish President Andrzej Duda pledging his support.
Mr Biden then called a gathering of Western leaders on the margins of the summit, including those from France, Germany, Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, as well as the heads of the European Council and Commission.
In a statement they condemned what they called Russia’s barbaric missile attacks across Ukraine yesterday and said they offered their full support for Poland in the investigation over the missile attack.
An official read-out of the gathering said: “Today, the leaders of Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States met on the margins of the G20 summit in Bali and released the following statement:
“We condemn the barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure on Tuesday.
“We discussed the explosion that took place in the eastern part of Poland near the border with Ukraine. We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.
“We reaffirm our steadfast support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, as well as our continued readiness to hold Russia accountable for its brazen attacks on Ukrainian communities, even as the G20 meets to deal with the wider impacts of the war.
“We all express our condolences to the families of the victims in Poland and Ukraine.”
Mr Duda said he had spoken to President Biden who had promised “support in the form of American experts to help us investigate at the site of this tragic incident”.
He also said it was “highly likely” that Poland’s ambassador to NATO will request urgent consultations under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty at a meeting with other alliance ambassadors in Brussels today.
Article 4 of the NATO Treaty states that consultations can be called when any NATO member feels their “territorial integrity, political independence or security” are at risk.
Poland is protected by NATO’s commitment to collective defence, enshrined in Article 5 of its founding treaty, but the alliance’s response will likely be heavily influenced by whether the incident was accidental or intentional.
Last night, Poland summoned Russia’s ambassador to the capital Warsaw for an explanation after Moscow denied it was responsible for the missile strike, dismissing reports that it was to blame as a “provocation” intended to escalate tension.
The head of the permanent mission of Russia to the United Nations also described the incident as an attempt to provoke a direct clash between Russia and NATO.
“There is an attempt to provoke a direct military clash between NATO and Russia, with all the consequences for the world,” Dmitry Polyansky said on his Telegram channel.
A statement from the countries said that support and assistance would be provided for Poland’s ongoing investigation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told G20 leaders this morning there was a “terrorist state” among them, accusing Russia of the missile strike on Poland.
Speaking by video link, Mr Zelensky called the strike “a true statement brought by Russia for the G20 summit”, according to a copy of his speech seen by AFP.
Meanwhile, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said G7 and NATO representatives at a meeting condemned brutal acts by Russia in Ukraine and stood united behind Kyiv, for “as long as it takes”.
In a video message, she said participants stood ready to assist Poland in the investigation over the missile strike near the Ukrainian border.
A Ukrainian MP said it is hard to say at this time where the missile that exploded in Poland came from, but the remnants of the missile that were collected have been confirmed by Poland to be Russian.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Lesia Vasylenko said that the question is whether it was a deliberate hit by Russia into Polish territory, or whether it was a stray missile.
She said the discussion between NATO ambassadors, who are meeting in Brussels on Article 4 of the NATO statute, will be whether to invoke Article 5 or not.
“Of course, my ideal world, the ideal world of every Ukrainian is that finally Article 5 of NATO is invoked, which means that essentially an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all,” she said.
Ms Vasylenko added that if “there will be no reaction now to the hits inside of the territory of Poland, which is not only a UN member state but also a NATO member state, [Vladimir] Putin will take it as a green light to escalate his aggression”.
Additional reporting AFP, Reuters
‘Unlikely’ Poland missile fired from Russia, says Biden
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