Polish gov't confirms two killed by Russian-made missile
The Polish government has confirmed that it was a Russian-made missile which killed two people in eastern Poland on Tuesday.
Media reported that two people died Tuesday afternoon after a missile struck an area where grain was drying in Przewodow, a Polish village near the border with Ukraine.
Piotr Mueller, the Polish government spokesman, had confirmed there was an explosion that killed the two people, but stopped short of confirming whether they were casualties of a Russian missile.
But Mueller said Poland was raising the readiness of some of its military forces and other uniformed services.
The fact that the blast was caused by a Russian-made missile was only confirmed after midnight, by the Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lukasz Jasina, who presented the government’s stance.
Top Polish officials held a series of lengthy security meetings following the incident and the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, has consulted with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, and Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg.
Duda has also called a meeting of the National Security Council (RBN) for Wednesday, the head of the President's Office has said.
The Pentagon has stopped short of placing the blame on Russia just yet, with its spokesman, General Patrick Ryder, saying that the Pentagon did not have any information at that time to confirm the reports.
Polish and US national security officials have agreed to investigate the blast.
Confirmation that a Russian missile caused the blast would make it a serious security incident as for the first time in the Russia-Ukraine conflict a Nato member state would be hit by Russian ammunition.
On Tuesday, Russia carried out mass-scale missile strikes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Ukraine reported some 7 million of its citizens were left without electricity after the attacks.
Condolences and words of support came flooding in on Tuesday evening from Poland's partners in Nato and the EU as well as Ukraine, with calls for thorough investigation and further action if Russia's involvement was confirmed.
