Poland says Russian-made missile killed two near Ukraine border

SMA NEWS – WARSAW
A rocket that appeared to be Russian-made fell on a Polish village and killed two people, Poland said on Tuesday.
It is the first time that a Nato country has been struck by a missile since Russia’s invasion of its neighbour Ukraine in February.
Russia’s Defence Ministry denied reports that missiles from the country had hit Polish territory, describing the reports as a deliberate provocation.
The missile landed in Poland at 2.20pm on Tuesday and killed two people in the village of Przewodow, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina said.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said he had no evidence of who fired the missile that caused the explosion.
“We do not have any conclusive evidence at the moment as to who launched this missile … it was most likely a Russian-made missile, but this is all still under investigation at the moment,” Mr Duda said.
After the explosion, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki urged his countrymen not to panic.
“I am calling on all Poles to remain calm in the face of this tragedy … we must exercise restraint and caution,” Mr Morawiecki said after emergency government meetings in Warsaw.
US President Joe Biden and leaders of key allies held “emergency” talks on Wednesday following the missile strike near Poland’s border with Ukraine, the White House said.
Leaders of the EU and all G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US — were among those at the hastily arranged meeting in Bali, where they have been taking part in a G20 summit of major economies.
Mr Biden told reporters there was “preliminary information” that contests the notion that the missile was fired from Russia.
“We’re going to collectively determine our next steps as we investigate and proceed,” Mr Biden said.
He said there was “total unanimity” among the world leaders present.
The US President added that next steps for the international coalition would include a meeting of ambassadors.
Poland is putting some military units on a heightened state of readiness, government spokesman Piotr Muller said.
“There has been a decision to raise the state of readiness of some combat units and other uniformed services,” Mr Muller said.
He did not mention the reports of missiles but said there had been an explosion in eastern Poland in which two citizens were killed.
“Our services are on the ground at the moment working out what happened,” Mr Muller said after an emergency security council meeting in Warsaw.