Poland’s World Cup squad fly into Qatar with F-16 fighter jet escort
>
The Polish national team flying to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup was escorted by F-16 fighter jets yesterday after Tuesday night’s deadly missile attack.
Two Polish citizens were killed in the attack in the east of the country, six kilometers from the Ukrainian border, as Ukraine continues to defend against the Russian invasion.
Authorities are still trying to determine exactly where the missile came from, with early indications pointing to a Ukrainian air defense system attempting to counter the Russian bombardment – a claim Ukraine has denied.
In a sign that Poland is not taking any chances after the deadly attack, images released by the country on Thursday showed a passenger jet carrying its national football team being escorted by a pair of F-16 fighter jets.
“We were escorted to Poland’s southern border by F16 planes!” the Twitter account for the national team posted yesterday.
“Thanks and greetings to the pilots!”
Scroll down for video
The Polish national team flying to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup was escorted by F-16 fighter jets on Thursday after Tuesday night’s missile attack. In the photo: The passenger plane of the Polish national team is shown next to an F-16 fighter jet
Photos were shared of the three different aircraft.
The fighter jets flew almost wing to wing next to the passenger jet, decorated in Poland’s national colors of red and white.
The side of the passenger plane read ‘Republic of Poland’. The tail wing was decorated with images of historical figures from Poland, with the dates 1918 – 2018.
In Polish, a message read: ‘100th anniversary of regaining Poland’s independence’.
Video also showed the national team posing for a farewell photo with staff before boarding the plane. Images taken through a passenger plane window showed the two fighter jets flying side by side.
Superstar captain Robert Lewandowski and his teammates hope to take Poland out of Group C for their first knockout round since 1986.
Poland qualified for the World Cup from the same group as England, finishing six points behind them in second place.
In a sign that Poland is not taking any chances after the deadly attack, images released by the country on Thursday show a passenger jet carrying the national team being escorted by a pair of F-16 fighter jets (pictured)
Pictured: Poland’s national team and staff pose for a photo near the plane
They then received a bye into their play-off semi-final as Russia was disqualified from participating in the tournament due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Poland then triumphed in their play-off final at home to Sweden, defeating Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Co. defeated 2-0.
The World Cup starts on Sunday with a draw between hosts Qatar and Ecuador. For Poland, their first meeting is against Mexico on Tuesday.
Czeslaw Michniewicz will next take on Saudi Arabia on Saturday (November 26), before taking on tournament favorites Argentina on Wednesday, November 30.
Images taken through a passenger plane window showed the fighter jets flying side by side
Video also showed the national team posing for a farewell photo with staff before boarding the plane
Russia unleashed a nationwide barrage of more than 100 missiles and drones on Tuesday that knocked out 10 million people in Ukraine — strikes described by Ukraine’s energy minister as the biggest attack yet on the country’s battered power grid in nearly nine months of war .
The attack resulted in a missile landing in Poland, killing two people.
Polish President Andrzej Duda visited the site where the rocket landed on Thursday and expressed understanding for Ukraine’s plight. “It’s a hugely difficult situation for them and there’s a lot of emotions, there’s also a lot of stress,” Duda said.
On Wednesday, he called the strike an “unfortunate accident.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels: “This is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility for continuing its illegal war against Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg also said it was probably a Ukrainian air defense missile.
An aerial view of the grain processing warehouse in eastern Poland that was hit by a missile. Warsaw says the guns were “very likely” fired by Ukraine, but Zelensky has disputed that account
The conflict also echoed in European courts this week when a Dutch judge on Thursday sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian to life in prison for downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden had said the trajectories suggested the missile was likely not released from Russia. Russia denied responsibility.
Secretary of State Dmytro Kuleba also appeared to reverse Kiev’s position that it was a Russian missile that hit Poland after a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“Our experts are already in Poland,” Kuleba tweeted. “We expect them to gain quick access to the site in cooperation with Polish law enforcement.”
The conflict also echoed in European courts this week when a Dutch judge on Thursday sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian to life in prison for downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board.
None of the suspects from that earlier stage of hostilities were present in court or likely to serve their sentences, leading Zelensky to applaud the “significant” verdict but hold those responsible to account.
The Kremlin dismissed the ruling as politically motivated, while Australia accused Moscow of “harboring killers.”
Polish missile casualties revealed: first photos appear of driver and warehouse worker
These are the faces of two Polish farm workers who died when a stray Ukrainian missile crashed into them yesterday, sparking a major diplomatic incident.
Bogusław Wos, 62, the foreman of a grain warehouse, and Bogdan Ciupek, 60, a tractor driver, were killed around 3:40 p.m. Tuesday when an S-300 missile hit the town of Przewodow in eastern Poland, near the border with Ukraine, hit.
Warehouse manager Bogusław Wos, 62 (left), and tractor driver Bogdan Ciupek, 60 (right), have been named as the two men killed in a rocket attack on Poland yesterday afternoon
Startled residents reported hearing “strange whistling sounds” as the rocket flew over and then “a huge explosion, about a thousand decibels” as it hit.
Neighbors say Boguslaw had worked at the grain silo warehouse for 40 years and lived with his wife and elderly mother-in-law, both of whom they cared for.
The Przewodow resident is said to have two adult children who now live in the southern Polish city of Krakow.
Bogdan, who worked as a driver at the grain drying plant, lived in the nearby village of Setniki.