President Biden said it was “unlikely” that the missile that exploded in eastern Poland was fired from Russia, but said the information was “preliminary” and that Poland’s allies would support a full investigation.
The explosions came as Russia unleashed a wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities on Tuesday, hitting residential buildings and knocking out power in urban areas. In neighboring Poland, two people were killed in an explosion at a grain processing plant a few miles from the border with western Ukraine.
In a press release late last night, Poland’s foreign ministry said “a Russian-made missile fell in the village of Przewodow” and it summoned Russia’s ambassador to demand an “immediate and detailed explanation”.
Earlier, according to a government spokesman, the Polish government held an emergency meeting to deal with the “crisis situation” and planned to invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows member countries to “consult together” on “territorial integrity”. The political freedom or security of any of them may be threatened.
Meanwhile, Russia has dismissed any suggestion that its weapons have attacked Poland as “deliberate provocation”.
Biden called an emergency meeting in Bali
The attack came as world leaders gathered in Bali for the G-20 summit.
President Biden convened a small group of G-7 heads of state, as well as the European Union and the European Commission, for an emergency meeting about the explosion in Poland.
Later, Biden was asked if the missile came from Russia.
“There is preliminary information that will be contested,” Biden said. “I don’t want to say that until we fully investigate it. But it’s unlikely … that it was fired from Russia,” Biden said, citing the “launch.”
“But we’ll see,” he said.
Biden earlier called Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In his call with Duda, the White House said he reaffirmed America’s “ironclad commitment to NATO.”
Biden said he briefed the leaders on the calls, and they agreed to support Poland’s investigation. “I’m going to make sure we find out what really happened,” he said.
He condemned the attacks on Ukraine, calling them “completely unjustified” and said the United States would do anything to support Ukraine.
Ukraine says Russia fired about 100 missiles
The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia had fired about 100 missiles into Ukraine during the hours of Tuesday afternoon and evening.
“Does anyone seriously think the Kremlin really wants peace?” Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Twitter. “It wants obedience. But at the end of the day, terrorists always lose.”
The attacks came a day after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Russia to be held accountable and pay reparations for the war in Ukraine. And just last Friday, Russia suffered a major military setback as it was forced to retreat from the strategically important southern city of Kherson.
Ukraine said it shot down 70 of the 100 incoming missiles, but others hit their targets in the capital Kyiv, the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the western city of Lviv, and the southern city of Odessa.
According to Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, two residential buildings in Kyiv were attacked and one person was killed.
A video posted by the mayor’s office shows an apartment building in Kyiv engulfed in flames and thick smoke.
Half of Kyiv lost power
The mayor also said that almost half of the capital is without electricity.
The northeastern city of Kharkiv was without power, according to officials there.
“The United States strongly condemns Russia’s latest missile attack against Ukraine,” said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, who was at the G-20 in Bali.
“The United States and our allies and partners will continue to provide Ukraine with the air defense systems it needs to defend itself. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Sullivan said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Zelensky spoke to the G-20 via video and said his country was determined to return all territory taken by Russia.
“To liberate all our land, we will have to fight for some time,” Zelensky said.
There have been some international calls for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. But Zelensky noted that an interim agreement was reached between the two countries after Russia first attacked in 2014.
Russia used this period of relative calm to regroup militarily, he said, so Ukraine wouldn’t fall for it again.
We will not allow Russia to wait for us and build up its forces,” Zelensky said.
In his speech, the president repeatedly referred to the G20 as the ‘G19’, saying Russia should be excluded.
Russia turned to air power
In recent months, Russia’s ground forces have been unable to make much progress and have been significantly pushed back in several incidents, with Russia relying on airstrikes.
Russia launched a heavy bombing campaign against Ukraine’s energy system in October, damaging about 40% of the country’s electricity system, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian workers are scrambling to repair the damaged power grid. However, even before the latest attack, electricity was cut off for hours every day in many parts of the country, including the capital.
The Russian airstrikes come as temperatures plummet and a long, cold winter sets in.
Ukraine’s limited air defenses have proven more effective than expected in protecting key government and military facilities.
However, recent Russian operations have targeted such a wide range of civilian and energy facilities that Ukraine has been unable to protect them all.