Two people died in two explosions in the Polish border town of Przewodow, according to firefighters. It is believed that Russian missiles caused this. Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki convenes the National Security Council, a spokesman said on Twitter.
According to local fire brigade units, two people died in the Polish town of Przewodow as a result of what were believed to be Russian rockets. The radio station Zet previously reported two explosions. Two mobile grain dryers are said to have been hit. The village is only a few kilometers away from the border with Ukraine. It would be the first incident on EU and NATO territory since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller wrote on Twitter that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had convened the National Security Council for an emergency meeting. However, he warned against spreading unverified information. According to the PAP news agency, he announced that all information from the Polish government’s Committee on Security and Defense would later be made available to the public.
The origin of the missiles is unclear. The fact is that Russia fired around 100 rockets at Ukrainian territory during the afternoon, causing considerable damage. It is speculated that two rockets could have accidentally landed on Polish territory. A Polish expert also raised the possibility that when intercepting Russian missiles, Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses recorded two misses that landed on Polish soil. However, he considers an impact of misguided Russian missiles to be more likely.
According to the AP news agency, a senior US intelligence official has already confirmed that the missiles are Russian. The US Department of Defense initially reacted much more cautiously. It is said to be investigating reports of two alleged Russian missiles hitting Poland. The press reports are known to the Pentagon, said a spokesman in Washington. At this point in time, however, the ministry has no information that could confirm these reports. “If we can provide an update, we will,” the spokesman continued.
Mariusz Gierszewski, a journalist at radio station Zet, said on Twitter that his sources had confirmed that they were the remains of Russian missiles shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses. Based on the images of missile parts circulating on social media, they could be S-300 missiles. These are actually used for anti-aircraft defense, but are also used by Russia to shell cities due to insufficient amounts of precision ammunition.
The Russian military, on the other hand, dismissed the reports as “targeted provocation”. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced that no targets in the Ukrainian-Polish border area were fired upon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is against it: It was Russian missiles that hit Poland, he explains. Ukraine had long warned that Russian actions would not be limited to Ukraine.
Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks responded to the incident on Twitter, writing: “My condolences to our Polish brothers-in-arms. The criminal Russian regime has launched missiles that not only target Ukrainian civilians, but also landed on NATO territory in Poland. Latvia fully stands with our Polish friends and condemns this crime.”
Margarita Simonian, editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Sevodnya news agency and one of the central figures of Russian propaganda, wrote on Twitter: “This is how Poland got its own Belgorod region.” Belgorod is a Russian city located around 40 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. There are said to have been attacks by Ukrainian helicopters and rocket attacks there after the Russian invasion, killing and injuring.
