Poland said Wednesday that there is “absolutely no indication” that a missile that landed in Polish farmland, killing two people, was an intentional attack on the NATO country, and that neighbor Ukraine most likely launched the Soviet-era projectile in response to a Russian air assault that crippled its power grid.
“Ukraine’s defense was sending missiles in numerous directions, and one of these missiles sadly fell on Polish soil,” stated Polish President Andrzej Duda. “There is simply nothing to suggest that it was a deliberate strike on Poland.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg agreed with the assessment at a summit of the military alliance in Brussels.
“An inquiry into this occurrence is continuing, and we must await the results.” “However, we have no information that this was a premeditated attack,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
The preliminary findings came after US President Joe Biden and other Western backers of Ukraine backed the investigation and despite Russia’s repeated claims that it did not fire the missile.
Biden said Russia fired the missile was “unlikely,” but added, “I’m going to make sure we find out exactly what happened.”
The missile was shot down near Poland’s border with Ukraine on Tuesday. According to three US sources, preliminary assessments indicate that missile was launched by Ukrainian forces in response to an incoming Russian one. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.