Poland says ‘Russian-made missile’ caused explosion The Polish foreign ministry has said that a “Russian-made missile” was responsible for killing two people in the eastern village of Przewodów on Tuesday afternoon. Foreign affairs spokesperson Lukasz Jasina said: “On 15 November 2022, massive shelling of the entire territory of Ukraine and its critical infrastructure by the armed forces of the Russian Federation was observed for many hours. “At 15:40 in the village of Przewodów … a Russian-made missile fell, killing two citizens of the republic of Poland.” The statement said that the Russian ambassador to Poland has also been summoned to give an explanation (see 11:10pm). A map showing where Przewodów is.
Poland’s president Andrzej Duda has said that the explosion in Przewodów was a “one-off incident” and there are “no indications” that it is going to happen again. Duda said it was “most-likely” a Russian-made rocket but “we do not have any conclusive evidence at the moment as to who launched this missile … this is all still under investigation at the moment.” He added it was likely Poland will active Nato’s article 4 at a meeting of Nato on Wednesday. This is from the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour. Poland’s Duda says has no definitive evidence on who fired rocket. Poland has summoned RU ambassador over the firing of “a Russian made missile”, but Ukraine has Russian made S-300s surface to air missiles (that would not be fired but for Russia destroying Ukr energy network). — Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) November 15, 2022
Poland’s prime minister calls on Poles to ‘remain calm’ Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has given a press conference where he has urged caution. Speaking to reporters, Morawiecki said security forces and international experts were in Przewodów, eastern Poland, where two people have been killed to try to determine the cause of the explosion. He repeated several already-announced measures, including an increased military readiness and talking to Nato allies about an article 4 meeting between member states. Warsaw will also step up monitoring of its airspace. The prime minister went on to ask for people to be restrained. “I call on all Poles to remain calm around this tragedy. Let’s be prudent, let’s not let ourselves be manipulated. “We need to be ready to face fake news, propaganda efforts.”
Julian Borger This is an analysis from our world affairs editor, Julian Borger, on why the explosion is unlikely to trigger a military escalation between Nato and Russia. He writes: Even if it was concluded that the missiles that crossed the Polish border were indeed Russian, and not Ukrainian anti-missile interceptors, it would fall short of an “armed attack” envisaged in article 5, argued William Alberque, director of strategy, technology and arms control for International Institute for Strategic Studies. “‘Deliberate armed attack’ is a real thing,” Alberque said. “Two misfired cruise or ballistic missiles ain’t it.” Up to now, the broad Nato consensus has been that Russian escalation would lead to stepped-up arms supplies to Ukraine, and that – rather than any form of direct Nato involvement – would serve as a deterrent to Russian recklessness. That is the most likely response this time, and there will be a debate within Nato on whether it warrants a step up in the sort of military assistance being provided. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, argued it warranted the provision of F-15 and F-16 fighter jets. You can read his full piece here: Explosion in Poland unlikely to spark escalation even if caused by Russian missiles Read more
Poland says ‘Russian-made missile’ caused explosion The Polish foreign ministry has said that a “Russian-made missile” was responsible for killing two people in the eastern village of Przewodów on Tuesday afternoon. Foreign affairs spokesperson Lukasz Jasina said: “On 15 November 2022, massive shelling of the entire territory of Ukraine and its critical infrastructure by the armed forces of the Russian Federation was observed for many hours. “At 15:40 in the village of Przewodów … a Russian-made missile fell, killing two citizens of the republic of Poland.” The statement said that the Russian ambassador to Poland has also been summoned to give an explanation (see 11:10pm). A map showing where Przewodów is.
The Polish foreign minister has summoned the Russian ambassador to Poland for an explanation of the events connected to the explosion in Przewodów. In a statement on Poland’s government’s website, a spokesperson said: “The minister of foreign affairs, Zbigniew Rau summoned the ambassador of the Russian federation to the ministry of foreign affairs and demanded immediate detailed explanations.”
The US president, Joe Biden, has offered Poland’s leader, Andrzej Duda, the US’s “full support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation”, Reuters reports. In a telephone call, the Polish president gave Biden an update on the inquiry into the explosion that killed two people, and in turn Biden said the US had an “ironclad” commitment to Nato. The full readout provided by the White House said: “President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke with President Andrzej Duda of Poland and expressed deep condolences for the loss of life in Eastern Poland earlier this evening. “President Duda described Poland’s ongoing assessment of the explosion that took place in the eastern part of the country near the border with Ukraine. “President Biden offered full U.S support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation. President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Nato. “The two leaders said that they and their teams should remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.” The US president has also spoken by phone to the Nato general secretary, Jens Stoltenberg. Duda has spoken to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy tweeted afterwards: “We exchanged available information and are clarifying all the facts … all of Europe and the world must be fully protected from terrorist Russia.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russian missile attacks on Tuesday caused shutdowns in two of the country’s nuclear power plants. In an address to the nation, he said: “As a result of the strikes, several nuclear reactors at two plants were automatically disabled. These consequences were calculated, and the enemy knew exactly what it was doing.” He said that power has been restored to 8m homes after blackouts caused by the latest bombardment. “About 10 million Ukrainians were disconnected after the terrorist attack. Supply to eight million consumers has already been restored. Power engineers and repairmen will work all night,” he tweeted.
UK foreign secretary James Cleverley has said the government is “urgently” looking into reports of missiles landing in Poland and is in contact with the government in Poland. “We are urgently looking into reports of missiles landing in Poland, and are in contact with our Polish friends and Nato allies,” he said on Twitter.
Summary Here’s what we know so far, as investigators look into an explosion in Przewodów, a village near the border between Poland and Ukraine on Tuesday, which killed two people. Stray missiles are feared to have exploded in Poland , killing two agricultural workers in a village near its eastern border.
It came as Russia launched a 100-missile attack on Ukraine , causing damage to infrastructure that left 7m homes without supplies. It has also had an impact on power supply in neighbouring Moldova.
It is unclear whether the explosion was directly caused by a missile fired by Russia, or whether it is as a result of a Ukrainian anti-missile defence system shooting down a Russian missile.
The Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki , held an emergency meeting of a government committee on national security and defence matters.
Government spokesperson Piotr Müller said that Warsaw had raised its level of military readiness in the aftermath of the incident.
Müller said the government was calling for a meeting to take place between Nato members. It would be possibly under article 4 of Nato’s treaty, which says they “will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened”.
Russia has denied any involvement. The defence ministry said in a statement: “Russian firepower has launched no strikes at the area between Ukrainian-Polish border.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he has “no information” about the situation in Poland.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said it represents “a very significant escalation”. His foreign ministry Dmytro Kuleba called for more air defence assistance, fighter jets and a Nato summit to stop further escalation. We will continue to provide updates throughout the evening.
Nato ambassadors to have article 4 meeting on Wednesday – reports Nato ambassadors will meet on Wednesday at the request of Poland on the basis of the alliance’s article 4, two European diplomats have told Reuters. According to article 4 of the alliance’s founding treaty, members can raise any issue of concern, especially related to the security of a member country. Investigations continue into the circumstances around an explosion in Przewodów, near Poland’s border with Ukraine that killed two people. One of the diplomats said the alliance would act cautiously and needed time to verify how exactly the incident happened.
