NATO has said the missile that crashed into a Polish village and killed two civilians was probably a Ukrainian missile. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, however, blamed Russia for the fiasco, saying Ukraine would not have launched the air defense systems had Russia not fired multiple missiles on Tuesday.
Ukraine Air Defense
"Most likely this is a Ukrainian air defence missile," the NATO chief told the BBC. Stoltenberg also said NATO will give more advanced air defence systems to Ukraine though Kyiv is not a member of the alliance. "Today I attended a meeting of a support group for Ukraine where Nato allies and partners made new pledges for more advanced air defence systems so we can help to shoot down Russian missiles ..But the best way to prevent any instances like this in the future is for Russia to stop war. We have no indication that this is a deliberate attack from Russia," he said.
On Wednesday, tensions had escalated after Poland said the missile that struck a village near the Ukraine border was fired by Russia. The Nato and European Union leaders held an emergency meeting in Bali, on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting, to discuss the evolving situation.
Russia had denied any role in the attack, saying it has not carried out any missile strike near the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Conflicting Claims
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the missile that hit the village was likely Russian-made. Poland also said it was increasing its military readiness. "We decided to increase the combat readiness of selected units of the Polish armed forces, with particular emphasis on airspace monitoring," Morawiecki said.
The Polish foreign ministry also blamed Russia for the missile attack and summoned the Russian ambassador. However, Polish President Andrzej Duda had said the attack may have been an accident. The President also said Warsaw did not see the incident an attack on the country, adding that the missile was probably part of the Ukrainian Air Defence systems.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden also said it was unlikely that the missile that killed two people in Poland was fired from Russia. Speaking at the G20 meeting in Bali, he said there is preliminary information that contests that. "I don't want to say that until we completely investigate. But it is unlikely in the minds of its trajectory that it was fired from Russia."
Investigation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said an investigation into the incident must involve specialists from Ukraine. "One of the main issues at the UN Security Council is the situation in Poland, clarifying all the circumstances of how Russian aggression crossed the Polish border. The Ukrainian position is very transparent, we strive to establish all the details, every fact. ... That is why we need our specialists to join the work of the international investigation and that we have access to all the data available to our partners and to the site of the explosion," he said.
