Media reports note that missile that hit Poland was fired by Ukraine
3 Min Read
US President Joe Biden says that trajectory of missile indicates that it is unlikely to be Russian.
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Leaders interrupt G20 summit for a meeting to discuss the missile incident in Poland (Reuters)
Initial investigation indicated, according to the Associated Press, citing US sources, that the missile that impacted Poland was launched by Ukrainian forces in response to an inbound Russian missile.
According to Reuters, US President Joe Biden stated that the missile that killed two in Poland was not fired by Russia.
On Wednesday, Biden summoned a meeting of leaders in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, to investigate the Poland missile incident, which they were concerned could mean the spill of the war into neighboring countries. Leaders from NATO members such as Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom, as well as non-member Japan and EU delegates also participated.
Earlier, I met with G20 and NATO Leaders to discuss the explosion in Eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 16, 2022
We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. pic.twitter.com/KZcWZBo4VI
When asked if it was still too soon to determine if the missile was launched from Russia, Biden responded, "There is preliminary information that contests that. I don't want to say that until we completely investigate it, but it is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia but we’ll see.”
Biden also vouched that before taking any action, the US and NATO nations will conduct a thorough investigation.
According to Polish officials in Warsaw, their government is expected to ask for a NATO meeting under Article 4 of the treaty so that the allies can discuss, as well as bring up the matter at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday.
The White House further stated that Biden informed Polish President Andrzej Duda during a phone conversation that Washington has an "ironclad commitment to NATO" and will back Poland's inquiry.
The EU, the Netherlands, and Norway said they were looking for further information, and Germany and Canada said they were keeping an eye on the issue. In addition to Britain conducting an "urgent" investigation into the allegation, French President Emmanuel Macron also requested a verification attempt.
Erdogan: Data shows Russia had nothing to do with incident
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said on Wednesday that according to data, Russia was not the one that fired the missile.
"It is important for us that Russia said: 'We have nothing to do with it.' In addition, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz said at our morning meeting that this incident should be investigated in detail. It is also important that [US President Joe] Biden denied that the rocket belonged to Russia," Erdogan told reporters on the G20 sidelines.
Read more: Poland 'Russian missiles' claims are to provoke escalation: Russia MoD
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