Russian missiles kill two in POLAND, sparking emergency meetings in NATO state
>
In Poland, two people have been killed after explosions hit a farm near the border with Ukraine in what is believed to be a botched Russian missile strike.
Two explosions are said to have occurred in Przewodów, a rural village less than ten kilometers from the Ukrainian border in southwest Poland.
A senior US intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the deadly explosions were caused by a pair of wayward Russian missiles.
It follows a report by Polish radio ZET also claiming two stray missiles hit Polish soil, without providing more details.
The explosions came as Moscow launched new missile strikes into Ukraine today, in attacks that Kiev said were the heaviest wave of missile strikes in nearly nine months of war.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called an emergency meeting of a government committee on national security and defense affairs amid the news, a government spokesman said.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller did not immediately confirm US intelligence reports of the missile attack, but did say top leaders held an emergency meeting because of a “crisis situation.”
Poland is a member of NATO which has a ‘collective defense policy’ meaning that an attack on one nation in the security bloc is an attack on all.
Article 5 of the Washington Treaty – NATO’s founding agreement – states that if a NATO ally becomes the victim of an armed attack, “any other member of the Alliance shall regard this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take such actions as it deems necessary to assist the attacked ally’.
Two explosions are said to have occurred in Przewodów, a rural village less than ten kilometers from the Ukrainian border in southwest Poland. The aftermath of the explosions, which left two dead, is depicted
A piece of metal lies in the mud after Russian missiles landed on Polish soil, killing two
Pictured is Polish President Andrzej Duda. Polish officials were called for an emergency meeting following news that a pair of Russian missiles had hit a village near the border with Ukraine, killing two.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will chair a meeting of the Pobeda (Victory) organizing committee via teleconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on November 15, 2022.
At least three Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko saying they all hit residential buildings
Russia today unleashed one of its largest missile strikes to date on Ukraine, leaving the country’s energy network “critical” with ongoing blackouts.
More than 100 rockets were fired at cities across the country, hitting civilian buildings and power plants, the Ukrainian air force said.
The bombing left half of Kiev, where at least one civilian was killed, and the entire city of Zhytomyr without power.
Strikes were also reported in the western city of Lviv – the closest major urban settlement to the Polish border – causing partial blackouts.
Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, Rivne, Odessa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi and Ivano-Frankivsk were also targeted.
It came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – speaking via video link from Kiev – told world leaders at the G20 summit in Bali that he is ready to end the war provided Russia withdraws its troops from the areas it it is currently occupied.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov – later speaking at the summit in Indonesia – accused the West of waging a “hybrid war” in Ukraine and Kiev of “prolonging” the conflict, without Russia’s involvement in the fighting to name.
Firefighters extinguish a fire in a residential building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Kiev
“There is an attack on the capital. “According to preliminary information, two residential buildings were hit in the Pechersk district,” Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
“Several missiles were shot down over Kiev by air defense systems. Medics and rescue workers are at the scene of the strikes.”
A little later he added: “Another hit in the Pechersk district. Multi-storey building.”
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said the attack was in response to the president addressing the G20 – increasing pressure on Russia to stop its attacks.
“Does anyone seriously think the Kremlin really wants peace? It wants obedience. But in the end, terrorists always lose,” Yermak said.
Russian forces have targeted energy infrastructure across Ukraine in recent weeks, launching a barrage of missiles and swarms of drones.
About a third of Ukraine’s power generation capacity has been shut down, causing power outages across the country just as winter hits.
Kiev was last attacked by Russian troops almost a month ago, on October 17.
Russia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Tuesday to end the war in Ukraine, as G20 allies and critics lamented the painful global impact of nearly nine months of conflict.
A draft communiqué obtained by AFP showed that the world’s 20 leading economies came together to condemn the effects of the war, but were still divided over the allocation of blame.
The summit has shown that even Russia’s allies have little patience with a conflict that has inflated global food and energy prices and raised the specter of nuclear war.
Russia risked diplomatic isolation and had to admit that the war in Ukraine – which Moscow refuses to call a war – has “had a negative impact on the global economy.”
It also agreed that “the use or threat of using nuclear weapons” is “unacceptable” after President Vladimir Putin made such threats for months.
Firefighters work at the site of a rocket attack in Kiev, Ukraine, which was hit by Russian missiles hours after President Zelensky spoke at the G20
Firefighters extinguish a fire in a residential building hit by a Russian missile strike, during attacks on Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the G20 just hours before the missiles hit and called on Russia to end its invasion of his country
The embattled Russian leader has skipped the summit and stayed home to deal with a string of embarrassing defeats on the battlefield and a tough campaign that threatens the future of his regime.
Rubbing salt in Russia’s wounds, Zelensky has just visited liberated Kherson and made an impassioned video appeal to G20 leaders.
He said they could “save thousands of lives” by pushing for a Russian withdrawal.
The United States and its allies used the summit to expand the coalition against the Russian invasion and undermine Moscow’s claims of conflict between East and West.