Two people were killed after a missile landed in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border following a wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine
US President Joe Biden earlier said it was “unlikely” that the missile was fired from Russia
Russia’s defence ministry denies it was responsible and says accusations are a “deliberate provocation aimed at escalation”
Polish President Andrzej Duda himself has said there is no conclusive evidence as to who launched the missile. The Nato military alliance, which Poland is part of, is holding a meeting in Brussels – it has called what happened a “tragic incident”
Russia denies it fired the missile, and there are suggestions it could in fact have been shot by Ukrainian air defence systems.
Poland and Nato avoid blaming Russia for missile. As we’ve been reporting, leaders of Nato countries are holding an emergency meeting to respond to last night’s missile hit in Poland.
So far, the Western military alliance – and the Polish government itself – have avoided blaming Russia.
Both the Nato chief and the Polish president have called the hit – which killed two people – a “tragic incident”.
That’s in keeping with an earlier position outlined by US President Joe Biden. A short time ago, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was important to establish the facts of what happened.
UK PM Sunak says yesterday at the G20 summit fellow leaders “confronted” the Russian foreign minister with the “illegality of his country’s war” in Ukraine.
He says an urgent meeting of allies has taken place to “underscore solidarity” with Ukraine and Poland, and said he has offered his “wholehearted support” to Poland.
“None of this would be happening if it weren’t for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is the cruel and unrelenting reality of this war,” he says.
The war in Ukraine has loomed over the G20 summit in Bali – and the fall of a missile into neighbouring Poland derailed its second day.
China has called for calm following the missile blast that killed two people in a Polish village near the border with Ukraine.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press briefing: “Under the current situation, all relevant parties should stay calm and exercise restraint to avoid escalation of the situation.”
Estonia president Alar Karis told the BBC Estonia saw this as an isolated incident but said the war had to be stopped as soon as possible
Turkish President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan said he respected Russia’s statement denying it was behind the incident and believed Moscow had “nothing to do with it”
Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said it was important to know the details of the incident and “act accordingly”
Meanwhile, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said G7 and Nato representatives stood ready to assist Poland in its investigation.
