Russia denies involvement in Poland missile strike, calls it a ‘provocation’
As leaders are monitoring the latest Russian-made missile strike in Eastern Poland, Russia has denied the claims that its missiles had attacked a Polish town
As global leaders are monitoring the latest Russian-made missile strike in Eastern Poland, Russia has denied the claims that its missiles had attacked a Polish town on Tuesday. Furthermore, in the midst of the growing worries about more strained relations between Russia and the West, Russia called the strike a “provocation”. In reaction to these claims, Russia issued a statement via the state-run Tass news agency.
According to Tass, “The statements of the Polish media and officials about the fall of ‘Russian’ missiles in the Przewoduv region are a deliberate provocation, the Russian armed forces did not strike any targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border, the Russian Defense Ministry said”.
Besides this, it is pertinent to note that the latest explosion marks the first time a Russian missile has struck a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member state. Further, any NATO nation that has been targeted may use Article 5 to start an international response. However, so far, Poland has not done anything like that.
Poland Missile Strike
As per the Associated Press, US security officials claimed that on Tuesday, Russian missiles entered Poland, which borders Ukraine. According to media reports, two individuals were killed when the missiles hit the village of Przewodów. Despite convening an emergency conference owing to a “crisis situation,” Polish officials have not made any statements regarding the strike.
On Tuesday, Poland’s allies, notably the United States, expressed worry over the alleged hit. According to Pentagon press secretary Patrick Ryder, American defence authorities are aware of the claims and have vowed to protect NATO.
Ryder said, “When it comes to our security commitments and Article 5, we’ve been crystal clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory,” Newsweek reported.
Biden promised assistance for Poland’s probe
In addition to this, US President Joe Biden promised assistance for Poland’s probe into what it had labelled a “Russian-made” missile. On Wednesday, Biden even stated that it was “unlikely” that a rocket that killed two in NATO partner Poland was shot from Russia.
Furthermore, in Indonesia on Wednesday morning, Biden called an “emergency” conference of the leaders of the Group of Seven and NATO to discuss the incident that left two people dead in the eastern portion of Poland close to the Ukrainian border.
When questioned if the missile had been launched from Russia, Biden told the media, “There is preliminary information that contests that.” He later added, “It is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we will see.”
It was absolutely “unanimity among the folks at the table,” according to Biden, who updated the allies on his meetings with Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. They also agreed to back Poland’s probe into the incident.
