Commenting on the killing of two persons in Poland by a rocket yesterday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte wrote on Twitter: “One thing is clear: this would not have happened without Russia’s horrific missile attacks against Ukraine.”
One thing is clear: this would not have happened without Russia’s horrific missile attacks against Ukraine. We continue to support Ukraine in its defence against the Russian aggression. (2/2)
— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) November 16, 2022
A similar comment in essence was made by Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov: “This is the reality we’ve been warning about. We were asking to close the sky, because sky has no borders. Not for Russian uncontrolled missiles.”
Poland. This is not a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is the reality we've been warning about. We were asking to close the sky, because sky has no borders. Not for 🇷🇺 uncontrolled missiles. Not for the threat they carry for our EU&NATO neighbours. Gloves are off. Time to win.
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) November 15, 2022
“How many times has Ukraine said that the terrorist state will not be limited to our country?” rhetorically asked President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his late-night address. “It’s only a matter of time before Russian terror goes further.”
On Tuesday, just as Russia was barraging Ukraine with missiles and drones, two “Russian-made missiles” landed on the Polish territory, one of them in the “village of Przewodów, near the border with Ukraine, killing two people,” according to CNN that cited Poland’s Foreign Ministry.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident, which marks the first time a NATO country has been directly struck during the almost nine-month conflict, remain unclear — including who fired the missile and where it was fired from. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have used Russian-made munitions during the conflict, with Ukraine deploying Russian-made missiles as part of their air defense system,” CNN observes.
Following the blast in Przewodów, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called an emergency meeting of the country’s National Defense and Security Council, while U.S. President Joe Biden invited the G7 and NATO leaders, who at the time were on Bali, Indonesia, for an emergency meeting.
The Ukrainian President in a telephone conversation with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda “expressed condolences in connection with the death of Polish citizens from Russian missile terror,” UNIAN reported. “We also discussed the available information and we are checking up on all the facts,” Zelensky said.
“While clear-cut evidence of a deliberate Russian attack on Poland could theoretically lead a country to invoke Article 5 [of the North Atlantic Treaty], Polish authorities have yet to provide such details, and U.S. and European officials stressed Tuesday evening that they are still collecting information and coordinating among allies,” according to The Washington Post.
“A more likely — but not certain — outcome is that Poland could invoke Article 4 …, which allows members to bring any issue of concern, especially related to security, for discussion at the North Atlantic Council,” The Washington Post wrote on Tuesday. Later, two European diplomats told Reuters that “NATO ambassadors will meet on Wednesday at the request of Poland on basis of the alliance’s Article 4.”
