Moscow says missile that killed two people in Poland was Ukrainian after Biden says it was ‘unlikely’ fired from Russia

By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Dec 19, 2022

Russia has insisted it did not fire the missile that killed two people in a Polish village near the Ukrainian border.

A Defense Ministry spokesman told Russia’s RIA news agency that its Nov. 15 strikes were no closer than 35 km from the Polish border.

They claimed footage from the site showed the wreckage was that of a Ukrainian S-300 missile.

He comes as US President Joe Biden questioned earlier claims by Ukrainian and Polish authorities that the missile that hit a grain silo in Przewodow was fired by Moscow.

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Speaking after a meeting with G7 and NATO leaders, Mr Biden said: “There is preliminary information that disputes this.

“I don’t want to say that until we fully investigate it, but it’s unlikely in the trajectory lines that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see.”

And three US officials told the Associated Press news agency that the missile could have been fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile.

They claim that the Ukrainians had tried to defend themselves against a Russian salvo targeting their electricity infrastructure.

A spokesperson for the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: ‘I think there is agreement on all sides that more investigation is needed before any conclusions can be drawn.

The missile had sparked worried discussions about NATO’s Article 5, which means an attack on one member country is considered an attack on all allies.

US Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said America would “defend every inch of NATO territory”.

But Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country is “very likely” to invoke Article 4 later today, which allows a member country to raise a security issue and discuss it. .

Mr Duda said: “We have no conclusive evidence at this time as to who launched this missile…it was most likely a Russian-made missile, but it’s all still under discussion. an investigation at this time.”

He added: “We are acting very calmly. What happened was a one-off incident.

“There is no indication that there will be a repeat.”

Meanwhile, the Polish National Security Council (BBN) is due to meet later.

And Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said his country remained secure thanks to its membership in NATO, but warned that further incidents were possible.

“The reaction of our allies, their unequivocal support and their willingness to support us shows that we are much safer
country than if we were not in NATO.

“As a country bordering Ukraine, we may be exposed to various types of incidents, including accidental ones.”

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Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said: “Lithuania will actively support the deployment of (NATO) air defenses along the Polish-Ukrainian border.

And he told reporters that this also applied to the rest of the eastern flank, adding: “I hope that by next year’s NATO summit in Vilnius we can make progress because the situation confirms that this is the right decision and that it must be implemented quickly.”

A United Nations spokesperson said avoiding an escalation of the war is “absolutely essential”, adding that a “thorough investigation” should take place.

And a statement following a meeting of G7 leaders on Wednesday morning said: “We discussed the explosion that took place in the eastern part of Poland near the border with Ukraine. We offer our our full support and assistance in Poland’s ongoing investigation.”