Poland and NATO allies said Tuesday that a deadly blast near the Ukrainian border was likely unintentional and did not originate from Russia, The New York Times reports.
Two people were killed on Tuesday after an explosion at a Polish grain processing facility near the Ukrainian border.
The blast set off fears that Russia had attacked a NATO member and the Polish government convened an emergency session to discuss the crisis.
Some officials called to begin discussions under Article 4 or 5 of the NATO treaty, which requires members to defend any allies that are attacked.
Russia denied any role in the blast.
Walkback:
After a series of panicked meetings, Poland’s government said the explosion was likely not caused by Russia after all.
“We have no evidence at the moment that it was a rocket launched by Russian forces,” Polish President Andrzej Duda told reporters. “However, there are many indications that it was a missile that was used by Ukraine’s antimissile defense.”
Duda added that the blast was still the result of the “massive, unprecedented” Russian attack on Ukraine.
“Ukraine defended itself — which is obvious and understandable — also by firing missiles whose task was to knock down Russian missiles,” he said. “Therefore we were dealing with a very serious clash caused by the Russian side, as well as the entire conflict. Yesterday’s clash is certainly borne by the Russian side.”
NATO confirms:
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that evidence suggests the blast “was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks.”
“Let me be clear: This is not Ukraine’s fault,” he said. “Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine.”
