NATO: Strike likely caused by Ukranian air defence
Ukraine Poland president says “unfortunate incident”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell today remarked the Polish people should be “a little more than nervous” after a “Russian-made” missile struck Poland and killed two people on Tuesday.
The missile reportedly hit an area outside of a rural Polish village near the Ukrainian border and marks the first time the NATO country has been struck as the brutal Russo-Ukrainian war lags on for its ninth month.
At a live press conference minutes ago, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said preliminary analysis “suggests the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks”.
Stoltenberg called on Russia to “stop this senseless war”.
In a tweet this morning, Poland’s president Andrzej Duda said the strike was probably an “unfortunate incident”, adding there were no grounds to suspect the missile was launched by Russia or that it was an intentional attack.
“It’s a NATO country,” Mitchell said in a voice note this morning.
“The rule is one attack on one is an attack on all. Remember there was a pledge to defend Poland in the Second World War. In 1939 Germany under Hitler then marched into Poland and the west did nothing. So the Polish people should be more than a little nervous tonight.”
An emergency meeting of Group of Seven nations and NATO leaders was reportedly convened on Wednesday in Bali, Indonesia where world leaders met for the G20 summit.
However, following that meeting, US President Joe Biden told press it was unlikely based on preliminary information that the missile came from within Russia.
“I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate. It’s unlikely in the minds of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see,” Biden told the press on the heels of the emergency meeting.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a transatlantic security alliance established during the Cold War.
It is comprised of 30 member states and serves to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
A direct attack on a member state could trigger a collective military response.
Stoltenberg said he spoke with both Duda and Biden last night.
“We agreed that we need to stay vigilant calm and closely coordinated,” he said.
“We will continue to consult and monitor the situation very closely. NATO stands united and we will always do what is necessary to protect and defend all allies.”
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