The EU is in shock and NATO is on alert for the missiles that fell in Poland in the evening causing two deaths after the rain of more than 100 Russian rockets that fell on Ukraine in the afternoon, yet another challenge by Vladimir Putin to the world in full G20: it is the first time that a country of the ‘Alliance is directly affected in the conflict. Feverish contacts and consultations between allies to try to understand what exactly happened in Poland, or whether the missiles are Russian or, as some sources suggest, whether it was the remains of a rocket shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft that caused the disaster. “We are monitoring the situation, it is important to ascertain the facts,” NATO secretary Jens Stoltenberg underlined, while Joe Biden spoke on the phone with his Polish colleague Andrzej Duda. Moscow has denied that the missiles belong to him and has spoken of a “provocation” aimed at fomenting an escalation. Kiev for its part has rejected the “conspiracy theory” propagated by the Russians according to which a Ukrainian air defense missile would have fallen on Polish territory. Warsaw, in any case, has put the army on alert.
The news that had been feared since the beginning of the conflict arrived in the evening. Mariusz Gierszewski, a reporter from Poland’s Radio Zet, was the first to launch it, speaking of “two Russian missiles” that fell on Polish soil in a village 10 kilometers from the border, Przewodow. Confirmation came soon after from a senior US intelligence official quoted by the AP. Then the local firefighters found the two people who died following the explosions that hit a site where cereals were dried. As the hours went by, Gierszewski, quoting the services in Warsaw, hypothesized that it would not have been a launch error by the Russians but the remains of a missile shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft. The other hypothesis is that it was precisely a missile from the defense of Kiev that fell in Poland: the debris is compatible with the S300 system, used by both sides.
ANSA Agency
An armed attack on one is treated as an attack on all (ANSA)
In Warsaw, the alarm was immediately raised. The government has convened an emergency security council (which has been rescheduled for tomorrow), while the Pentagon has assured that the United States will “defend every inch” of Alliance territory in case Poland invokes Article 5, which binds member states to collective defence. In any case, the watchword at this stage is to ascertain the facts, and tomorrow morning in Brussels the Atlantic Council will meet at ambassadorial level to examine the reports of the incident. The issue, Emmanuel Macron said, will certainly also be addressed on the second day of the G20 in Bali, while Charles Michel has announced that he will ask for a meeting of EU leaders present in Indonesia. The alarm is shared by all the European chancelleries. “We are following the situation carefully, we are close to the Polish people”, underlined Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Meanwhile, contacts between Alliance leaders and Poland have multiplied. President Duda, speaking with Stoltenberg, essentially asked to activate article 4 of the Alliance, which provides that “the parties will consult each other whenever, in the opinion of one of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or the safety of one is threatened”. Hence the meeting of ambassadors tomorrow in Brussels. Also tomorrow the UN Security Council will meet. While waiting for clarifications, for President Volodymyr Zelensky it was in any case a matter of a “significant escalation” by Moscow, which requires the urgent convening of a summit of NATO leaders.
Ukraine, two buildings hit by Russian missiles in Kiev
