Police run a check point outside the scene in Przewodow, Poland, where authorities in Warsaw say a Russian-made missile struck its territory, killing two civilians.
Omar Marques | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The president of Poland said his government doesn’t yet conclusively know who fired a missile that struck Polish territory late Tuesday, killing two civilians.
The explosion, which took place about 15 miles (24 km) from the Ukrainian border, came as Russia was launching a massive wave of missiles at Ukrainian cities and energy facilities just before dusk local time.
President Andrzej Duda said the projectile was “Russian-made” and variously referred to it as either a missile or a rocket.
“What happened was an isolated incident,” said Duda, who added that an investigation is underway. “There is no indication that more will take place.”
Poland is a member of NATO. The development set off a chain of diplomatic activity among members of the alliance and Ukraine, which is not a NATO member but which gets massive military aid from the alliance.
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Duda and “offered full U.S. support for an assistance with Poland’s investigation,” the White House said. “President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to NATO.”
Warsaw also was in communication with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“The North Atlantic Alliance is on standby,” Duda said. “We have strengthened the readiness of the Polish armed forces, including the air defense. Our planes will be supported by allied planes. We act calmly and prudently.”
Russia’s Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment but said in a Telegram post that Polish claims were “a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation.”
Duda said Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy had assured Warsaw that “it was a rocket launched from the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation “and demanded immediate detailed explanations,” the Polish ministry said.
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