2 people were killed on Tuesday evening as a Missile landed on a Polish farm.
According to Kyiv, it came at the same time as nearly 90 missiles were fired at Ukraine on Tuesday. As part of its air defense system, Ukraine’s forces tried to shoot many of them down and were successful in defending some but not all.
An online Polish media outlet first reported the strike on Tuesday evening.
Social media was quickly flooded with rumors and alerts from all around the world. The main fear was a large escalation in the war in Ukraine. Was this going to involve Poland directly in the conflict?
The missile landed 6km from Poland’s border with Ukraine on a farm in the village of Przewodow.
Nato and G7 Release a Statement
Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said this on Twitter immediately after news of the blast was released:
Shocked by the news of a missile or other ammunition having killed people on Polish territory.
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) November 15, 2022
My condolences to the families.
We stand with Poland.
I am in contact with Polish authorities, members of the European Council and other allies.@AndrzejDuda @MorawieckiM
On the 16th of November, a day after the strike, Nato and G7 leaders met in Bali.
The Leaders of Canada, the European Council, the European Commission, 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 a statement.
In the statement, they said leaders “condemn the barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetuated on Ukrainian cities”.
Going on to talk about Poland, they say, “we offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation”. As well as this, they are united in saying, “we all express our condolences to the families and victims in Poland and Ukraine”.
We condemn the cowardly and brazen missile attacks of Russia on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) November 16, 2022
We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. https://t.co/hei3b7XvcY
Biden Speaks to Journalists
Following the Nato and G7 emergency meeting, Joe Biden spoke to journalists reiterating the group will support Poland in their investigation. “Make sure we figure out exactly what happened”.
Speaking on the Russian missiles, he said that “Russia continues to escalate in Ukraine”. The notion that de-escalation is the goal of G20 was emphasized.
As he was walking off, Biden said it was “unlikely” that the missile was fired from Russia due to the trajectory that it was fired.
WATCH: President Biden speaks after “emergency” meeting of G7 and NATO leaders, after missile hits in Poland. https://t.co/BMf1QgC8CH
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 16, 2022
Poland’s President Makes a Statement
Poland’s president Andrzej Duda spoke to journalists and said:
“We do not have any conclusive evidence at the moment as to who launched this missile … it was most likely a Russian-made missile, but this is all still under investigation at the moment“
Andrzej Duda
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki urged Poles and the world to stay “calm around this tragedy”. With investigations only just starting, little is known on how this Missile blast, and apart from theories, it is unknown how this attack directly links to the war in Ukraine.
