Biden: Its Unlikely that Russia Fired Missile at Poland Which Killed Two
Though President Biden said it “unlikely” that a Russian missile was responsible for the explosion in eastern Poland, he did note that the information was “preliminary” and that Poland’s allies would support a complete inquiry.
On Tuesday, Russia launched a barrage of missiles at Ukrainian cities, destroying homes and cutting power to entire neighbourhoods. In Poland, not far from the border with western Ukraine, two persons were killed in an explosion at a grain processing business.
The Russian ambassador was called in for a “urgent and detailed explanation,” according to a late-night press release from Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A spokesman for the Polish government said that earlier that day, the government called an emergency meeting to discuss a “crisis situation,” and that it intended to invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which permits member countries to “consult together” should the “territorial integrity, political independence, or security” of any of them be threatened.
However, Russia has called claims that its weapons had hit Poland a “intentional provocation.”
The G-20 conference, where world leaders were assembled in Bali, was underway at the time of the attacks.
In response to the explosion in Poland, President Biden called a meeting of the heads of the G-7 countries, the European Union, and the European Commission.
After the fact, people wanted to know if Biden believed the missile had originated in Russia.
Preliminary data disagrees with that, Biden added. “I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate it. But it is unlikely … that it was fired from Russia,” Biden explained, citing the “trajectory.”
“But we’ll see,” he added.
President Andrzej Duda of Poland and Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg were the recipients of calls from Vice President Biden. Reports from the White House said that during his chat with Duda, Trump reaffirmed America’s “ironclad commitment to NATO.”
Biden claimed that he updated leaders on the calls, and that everyone involved agreed to back Poland’s probe. What happened, he promised, will be discovered.
The attacks on Ukraine were also deemed “totally unconscionable,” and he promised that the United States would take any and all necessary measures” in its support of Ukraine.
