Two people die in a rocket hit in Poland. What and who is behind it? A media report and a NATO assessment provide insights.
+++ 10.50 p.m.: Even if the exact circumstances of the rocket impact in the eastern Polish village of Przewodów have not yet been clarified, the real reason for the accident, which claimed two lives, is Russian aggression towards Ukraine. According to a report by the news portal, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said so Ukrainska Pravda in a radio podcast of the station Polskie Radio Lublin. At the same time, Morawiecki emphasized: “If Ukraine were occupied by Russia, we would not need to provoke a war. War would come to us by itself. Putin won’t stop, the Kremlin will keep going. To be passive would be suicide for us.”
Morawiecki also announced that Polish investigative teams could travel to Ukraine if necessary to follow up on clues and look for clues. That’s what the politician told the Polish news site RMF24. In order to clarify the incident as quickly as possible, the Polish teams also worked with international experts, for example from the USA. They also want to work as closely as possible with the Ukrainian side, “because let’s not forget that today they are fighting for peace, for security, for peace in Europe, including in Poland.”
After the deadly rocket hit in Poland: Sullivan probably warned Selenskyj
+++ 5.32 p.m.: After the deadly rocket hit in Poland, events took a turn for the worse. Only a few hours after the impact became known, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized in his evening speech that it was a Russian missile and an attack. Biden’s security advisor Jake Sullivan is said to have sought talks with Selenskyj. As insiders told CNN, he is said to have called for more cautious rhetoric. The arrest of the Ukrainian president is said to have caused astonishment in Polish politics, the news channel reports.
Deadly missile strike in Poland: New details contradict NATO suspicion
+++ 3 p.m.: After the fatal rocket hit on Polish territory, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda expects more incidents of this kind. “Unfortunately, in a certain sense, we have to be prepared for the fact that accidents as a result of the war can happen again on our border,” Duda said on Friday in the East Polish City of Rzeszow.
Poland will do everything to ensure that this does not happen. Unfortunately, it is impossible to protect yourself from an event like the missile impact, Duda said. Military experts explained to him that no anti-missile defense system would have been able to intercept this projectile on Polish territory because there was not enough time.
Rocket impact in Poland: Kyiv and Warsaw want to investigate together
+++ 12.50 p.m.: According to information from Warsaw, Poland and Ukraine are currently discussing the establishment of an international investigative group after the rocket hit Polish territory. This is one of two ways to involve Ukrainian specialists in the investigation at the crash site, the head of the Polish President’s National Security Office, Jacek Siewiera, told the broadcaster TVN24.
Ukraine was informed in a letter on Wednesday that the Polish side would allow representatives of the Ukrainian administration to be present at the impact site, Siewiera said. There are two legal ways to actively participate in the investigation. Either Ukraine can submit an international request for legal assistance, or Poland’s Attorney General can set up an international investigative team. “Currently, the Ukrainian side has not requested legal assistance; talks are underway – perhaps they have already been concluded – about an international group,” said Siewiera.
Rocket impact in Poland: New details known
Update from Friday, November 18, 8:30 a.m.: After NATO announced new details about the investigation into the rocket impact in the south-eastern Polish town of Przewodow (see initial report), a media report from Poland is now causing a stir. According to the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza there should be clear indications that the bullet came from the arsenal of the Ukrainian army.
Consultation and alliance case: This is what Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO treaty mean
The report also partly contradicts the information provided by NATO: According to a report in the magazine, the military alliance had Business Insider explained that a technical error prevented the S-300 missile from self-destructing. That is why the rocket hit Polish terrain unchecked. the Gazeta Wyborcza however, reported that the missile exploded in mid-air after missing the target. The debris then hit just behind the Polish-Ukrainian border in the village of Przewodow.
The report of Gazeta Wyborcza according to the Polish authorities are said to have known about this relatively early on and withheld the information. The reason for this was that there was still no assessment by the US government on Tuesday evening. This was reinforced, among other things, by the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy communicated to Poland that it was definitely a Russian missile. According to the report, Selenskyj is said to have planned to use the ambiguous situation for his strategic goals. However, there is no evidence for this. The fact that Zelenskyj’s statements also caused uncertainty in Poland also shows that, according to the report of the Gazeta Wyborcza held back. He therefore wanted to comment on Tuesday evening that it was a Ukrainian missile, but was slowed down by security authorities.
Furthermore, it is said by the security authorities that the investigation into the deadly rocket impact in Poland is still ongoing. New details will be given in the coming days.
Rocket impact in Poland: NATO has new suspicions
First report from Thursday, November 17, 4:00 p.m.: Warsaw – There is still a lack of clarity as to what and who is actually behind the Rocket impact in Poland plugged. The investigation is still ongoing. However, more and more details are becoming known. According to the Polish Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, fragments of a projectile were found at the crater, which indicate the “S-300” anti-aircraft system. Both the Russian and the Ukrainian army use it.
the Nato According to a report, it is now a “tragic accident”. Like the magazine Business Insider reported that a technical error was the possible cause. Instead of destroying the anti-aircraft missile in the air by remote control, the missile flew on – and hit Polish terrain.
Rocket impact in Poland: did self-destruction go wrong?
According to Lieutenant Colonel Tanel Lelov, inspector of air defenses of NATO member Estonia, the missile’s destruction is possible: “If the launched missile misses its target or does not hit within a certain period of time, it will self-destruct in the air,” he told the Estonian TV station ERR.
From the Ukraine there is no statement on these details yet. president Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently only revised his assessment that definitely Russia behind the rocket hit in Poland. He referred to reports from the Ukrainian military on Wednesday. The Kremlin, in turn, said Russia had “nothing to do” with the matter. “I do not know what happened. We don’t know for sure. The whole world doesn’t know,” the Ukrainian leader said on Thursday. Nevertheless, Ukrainian experts are now to examine the crater. They are part of an international investigation to further investigate the incident.
For its part, the Russian government reacted with accusations against the West. “We understand that our enemies are looking for an excuse to increase pressure and follow the path of escalation,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the state news agency mug. Attempts are currently being made in an “absurd and obstinate” way to blame Russia.
Poland: Two people die in rocket hit
Two people were killed in a rocket attack in the south-eastern Polish town of Przewodow near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday. (do/nak with dpa/AFP)