Two people were killed in Ukraine’s neighboring country Poland, when a missile hit a grain warehouse in the east of the country yesterday, causing an explosion. Polish President Andrzej Duda states that the rocket is probably Ukrainian, even though it is Russian-made. Duda emphasizes that there is no indication that the country was attacked deliberately, but that the impact and explosion are the result of an accident. Currently, there is no evidence that the rocket was launched from Russia, according to the Polish president. Had the missile come from Russia, as was first assumed yesterday, it would have dramatically escalated the ongoing war. Rescue work in the village of Przewodow, after a rocket or rocket debris hit a grain field. Photo: UGC / Reuters – This is not Ukraine’s fault NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg had called a crisis meeting with the member countries’ NATO ambassadors this morning. Stoltenberg and others at the NATO headquarters in Brussels have been in close contact with the Polish authorities for the past half day, in order to get as much overview of the situation as possible and to help find out about the rocket strike in the Polish village of Przewodow. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg during a press conference on Wednesday. Photo: Olivier Matthys / AP At a press conference after the meeting, Stoltenberg says that there is no indication that Russia is planning military attacks against NATO. – The preliminary investigations show that there is talk of a Ukrainian missile which was fired in an attempt to defend itself against a Russian missile, and which caused the explosion. – There are no indications that this was the result of a premeditated attack, says Stoltenberg. – Let me be clear: This is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears the responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine. Russia must end the war, emphasizes the Secretary-General. Stoltenberg points out that the explosion in Poland occurred at the same time as Russia launched a new wave of rocket attacks against Ukrainian cities on Tuesday. – That in itself is a dangerous situation, he says. The US has information that agrees. The US also says that the first investigations indicate that the rocket came from Ukraine, which was trying to defend itself against fierce Russian rocket attacks. – It is unlikely that it was launched from Russia, President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday morning. Belgium also says the information they now have indicates that the missile was probably Ukrainian anti-aircraft weapons. – The attacks are most likely the result of Ukrainian air defense systems that were used to shoot down Russian missiles, says Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder. Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder. Photo: HATIM KAGHAT / AFP Russia denies being behind On Tuesday, Russia carried out more airstrikes than at any time since the start of the war. Around 100 rockets were fired at over 10 Ukrainian cities. According to Ukrainian defense authorities and President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, many of them were shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems. Polish President Duda said last night that the rocket that landed on the Polish side some six kilometers from the Polish-Ukrainian border was manufactured in Russia. But that as of then they did not have enough information to say where the rocket came from. Polish President Andrzej Duda Photo: PAWEL SUPERNAK / EPA Russia denies having anything to do with the incident. They say the rocket that hit Poland is a Ukrainian missile type S-300. They also say that the Russian attacks on Tuesday were only aimed at Ukraine, and that the closest attack was 35 kilometers within Ukraine’s borders. Calls for calm German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz asks that the explosions be thoroughly investigated before conclusions are drawn in the case. – This destruction must be investigated, the rocket parts must be examined and then we must wait for the results before they are made public, says Scholz to the press, according to NTB. – In such a serious case, there must be no hasty conclusions about the course of events before a careful investigation has been carried out, he says. China is also calling for calm on the matter. – Under the current circumstances, all parties should remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid escalation of the situation, says foreign policy spokesperson for the Chinese government, Mao Ning. Follow the development in news’s News Center:
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