By BOOM Team
A suspected Russian-made missile hit a village in eastern Poland on Tuesday, killing two people. The missile attack in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has fanned fears of a further escalation.
AFP quoted Warsaw saying that the missile attack had killed two in the village of Przewodow. However, there was no "conclusive evidence" on where the missile originated from.
The missile attack has sparked condemnations from world leaders, while many of who have gathered in Indonesia's Bali for the G20 summit.
Here is all you need to know about the latest escalation in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict:
What happened?
Warsaw on Tuesday said that two people had been killed after a suspected missile from Russia hit the eastern village of Przewodow. "On 15 November 2022, another hours-long, massive shelling took place of the entire territory of Ukraine and its critical infrastructure by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. At 3:40 pm, a Russia-made missile dropped on the village of Przewodów, district Hrubieszów, Lubelskie province, and resulted in the death of two citizens of the Republic of Poland," the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement.
Poland has now summoned the Russian ambassador and demanded an "immediate and detailed explanation."
On Tuesday, Russian missiles struck several Ukrainian cities, including Lviv which is adjacent to the Polish border. Ukrainian president Zelenesky said around 10 million people were plunged into darkness after the strikes disrupted the electricity supply lines.
Polish president Andrzej Duda said it is likely that the country will request the activation of Article 4 at the North Atlantic Council. According to Article 4, NATO members "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."
Duda also urged the people to not panic and said that the readiness of the Polish forces, including air defecnce, had been strengthened in view of the attack.
How has NATO reacted?
Meanwhile, US President has said the initial information suggests the blast that killed two in Poland may not have been caused by a Russian missile. "There is preliminary information that contests that," Reuters quoted Biden as saying. "I don't want to say that until we completely investigate it but it is unlikely ... that it was fired from Russia, but we'll see."
Biden held a meeting with G7 and NATO leaders over the latest escalations in the European region. "We agreed to support Poland's investigation into the explosion in rural Poland, near the Ukrainian border. And I'm going to make sure we figure out exactly what happened," Biden said after the meeting, adding that the leaders would support Poland's investigation.
"We agreed to support Poland's investigation into the explosion in rural Poland, near the Ukrainian border, and they're going to make sure we figure out exactly what happened. And then we're going to collectively determine our next step as we investigate and proceed," Biden said.
The meeting was attended by leaders from Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom, Reuters said.
Biden also spoke to Poland's President Andrzej Duda and 'expressed condolences" over the loss of life.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stolenberg also spoke to Duda and said the NATO was "monitoring" the situation.
What has Russia said?
Russian news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that he had no information about the Poland missile incident. "Unfortunately I don't have any information on that," Peskov was quoted as saying.
The Russian defence ministry any involvement with the Poland missile incident. "No strikes on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border were made by Russian means of destruction," it said in a statement, adding that the wreckage found at the scene "has nothing to do with Russian weapons".
