Poland's army is on alert today after a missile, possibly of Russian design, whose origin remains unknown, fell in a village in the south-east of the country, near the border with Ukraine.
Polish President Andrei Duda stressed yesterday, Tuesday, that at this stage there is no «conclusive evidence» about the origin of the missile, which he said was «very probably Russian-made». «An investigation is underway,» Duda added, explaining that it was an isolated incident.
In the village of Sevodov, law enforcement forces have blocked access to the site where the missile fell.
The West has offered judicious support to Poland, with US President Joe Biden calling it «unlikely (...) (the missile) was launched by Russia».
«I want to make sure that we can determine exactly what happened» before we react, he said after an emergency meeting of G7 leaders (US, France, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan) in Indonesia on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.
And France called for «maximum prudence» as «many countries» in the region possess this type of missile, the French presidency said, warning of «the considerable risk of escalation».
The missile fell in the early afternoon in the village of Sevodov, killing two Poles, according to the authorities. Kiev initially said it was a «Russian-made missile».
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is expected to have an «extraordinary meeting» with the Alliance's ambassadors today, according to his spokeswoman.
Poland, which borders Ukraine, is a member of NATO and about 10,000 US military personnel are in the country.
It is «absolutely essential to avoid an escalation of the war in Ukraine», stressed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who called for an «in-depth investigation» into the incident.
«Deliberate provocation», according to Moscow
The White House announced that Biden spoke with his Polish counterpart and Stoltenberg. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held talks with his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau and Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba.
«We pledge to remain in close cooperation in the coming days as the investigation progresses and we determine the appropriate next steps,» Blinken tweeted from Bali.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed «his condolences for the death of Polish citizens, victims of the terror of Russian missiles».
«Ukraine, Poland, the whole of Europe and the world must be fully protected from terrorist Russia,» he stressed.
Kuleba, for his part, described as «conspiracy theories» the allegations posted on the internet that the missile that landed on Polish territory might be Ukrainian.
Moscow described the accusations of Russian strikes on Polish territory as «provocations».
«The allegations by Polish media and officials about the alleged fall of Russian missiles near the village of Sevodov are a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation,» the Russian Defence Ministry reacted on Telegram.
«No strikes were launched on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border» by the Russian military, the ministry said.
«Keep calm»
During the night, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Moraviecki asked «all Poles to remain calm in the face of this tragedy».
In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's spokesman said that the country's Defence Council met in the evening.
Article 5 of NATO provides that if one member state is the victim of an attack, the others will consider this action as an attack against the whole Alliance and will take the measures they consider necessary to assist the attacked country.
If it is confirmed that the strike on Poland was carried out by Russia, it will be a serious escalation of the war in Ukraine.
