Two dead after rocket attack in Poland: what is known so far
Created: 11/15/2022, 10:37 p.m
By: Andreas Schmid
A rocket hits Poland, killing two people.
NATO is alarmed.
Ukraine blames Russia, Moscow denies.
what is known so far.
Przewodów – Rockets fell in a Polish village near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday afternoon, killing two people.
The news situation is manageable, there are different reports.
It is unclear whether the rocket was deliberately fired at Poland or whether the village of Przewodów was hit by mistake.
All information that is known so far (as of 10:30 p.m.).
Rockets hit Poland: That's what the local authorities say
First, the private Polish radio station Zet reported on a rocket attack on the village of Przewodów, which is said to have occurred around 3:40 p.m.
The local fire department confirmed this in the evening and spoke of an explosion on a farm.
Two people died.
The village of Przewodów, where the rockets fell, is close to the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Russia fired massive rockets at Ukraine on Tuesday. The target of the attacks was, among other things, the city of Lviv, which is only around 70 kilometers away from Przewodów.
Explosion in Poland near Ukrainian border.
Przewodów is eight kilometers from Ukraine.
© Graphic: A. Brühl, Editor: J. Schneider (dpa)
Who is blamed for the attack?
Shortly after the first reports, there were reports that it was supposed to be Russian missiles.
The AP news agency reported that a US intelligence official confirmed that the missiles were Russian.
However, this has not been officially confirmed.
The cause of the explosion is still unclear, a spokesman for the fire brigade in Hrubieszow told the German Press Agency on Tuesday evening.
There were also reports in Poland that the rockets were shot down by Ukrainian forces.
According to the ZDF "heute-journal", this scenario is also being discussed in the Chancellery.
According to ZDF correspondent Theo Koll, there are three possible scenarios.
We assume that we will have clarity soon (probably tomorrow)
a stray Russian missile
a deliberate shelling to test the western response
a misguided Ukrainian anti-missile
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What are Russia and Ukraine saying?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of firing the missiles and causing a "very significant escalation".
Firing missiles on NATO territory is "Russia's attack on collective security," said the Ukrainian president. "We must act." The longer Russia feels unassailable, the greater the threats to anyone within reach of Russian missiles.
The Russian military, in turn, denied having anything to do with the missile attack.
The Kremlin dismissed the reports as "targeted provocation".
The Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced on Tuesday evening that no targets in the Ukrainian-Polish border area had been fired upon.
The photos of alleged pieces of debris circulated in the Polish media also had nothing to do with Russian weapon systems, it said.
How is Poland reacting?
In response to the missile strike, Poland is stepping up military readiness.
This also applies to other uniformed services, said a government spokesman on Tuesday evening in Warsaw.
In addition, the Polish government said in the evening that consideration was being given to triggering Article 4 of the NATO treaty.
Article 4 of the NATO treaty states: "The parties will consult each other if, in the opinion of one of them, the integrity of the area, the political independence or the security of one of the parties is threatened."
How is NATO reacting to the events?
Several Eastern European countries soon clearly took sides.
Latvia's Defense Minister Artis Pabriks wrote on Twitter: "The criminal Russian regime has fired missiles that not only target Ukrainian civilians, but also landed on NATO territory in Poland." The Estonian Foreign Ministry said: "Estonia is ready, every inch of NATO territory.” Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki convened the Council of Ministers for National Security and Defense in the evening.
Hungary did the same.
German Annalena Baerbock wrote on Twitter: "My thoughts are with Poland, our close ally and neighbor.
We are closely monitoring the situation and are in touch with our Polish friends and NATO allies.” NATO previously announced that it would investigate reports of the deadly blast.
A NATO representative said in Brussels that the reports would be examined.
There is close coordination with ally Poland, it said.
The US Department of Defense said it was investigating reports of
two Russian missiles
allegedly hitting Poland.
The press reports are known to the Pentagon, said a spokesman on Tuesday in Washington.
At this point in time, however, the ministry has no information that could confirm these reports.
"If we can provide an update, we will," the spokesman said
Why is the event so explosive?
Should it prove true that the explosion was triggered by rockets, it would be the first such incident in Russia's nearly nine-month war of aggression against Ukraine.
NATO supports Kyiv with arms deliveries, but is not a party to the war in Ukraine per se - and probably won't be for the time being.
But: NATO Article 5 regulates the so-called alliance case.
The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America will be considered an attack against them all.
First sentence in NATO Article 5
In the case of an alliance, it means that if
one NATO member is attacked, the
entire NATO
is de facto
attacked.
The NATO Council unanimously declares the alliance case, it has only been declared once so far: after the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001.
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