Poland Says No Further Threat From Missile Strikes: Following a missile explosion on Tuesday night that killed two Polish citizens in a village on the Ukrainian border, the Polish government confirmed on Thursday that there is “no indication” of a direct threat against the country from Russia or Ukraine.
Poland Missile Crisis Seems Over
Government spokesman Piotr Muller told reporters in a press briefing on Thursday that the missile strike in Przewodow was not an intentional strike and that it only occurred as a result of Russian aggression. The comments echoed claims made by U.S. President Joe Biden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that Russian missile strikes were the reason for the accidental missile strike.
According to Muller, the missile strike was a result of “Ukraine’s defensive actions against Russia’s offensive actions,” adding that there is no evidence of a direct threat to Poland.
“At the moment, we know that on Nov. 15 Russia, which carried out a massive missile attack on the territory of Ukraine, led to a situation in which the Ukrainian anti-aircraft forces had to take defensive measures,” Muller added.
Polish President Andrzej Duda also said this week that the strike was the result of Ukrainian forces “launching their missiles in various directions,” adding that it was “highly probable that one of these missiles unfortunately fell on Polish territory.”
Ukraine Denies Responsibility
Despite Western leaders’ repeated claims that Ukraine was not to blame even if the missile that landed in Poland was fired from a Ukrainian position, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to deny responsibility for the incident.
Speaking on Ukrainian television on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said that his military commanders had assured him that the missile did not belong to Ukraine. The Ukrainian president said that he had “no doubt” Ukraine was not responsible for the strike, and called on Polish officials to provide Kyiv access to the site to assess what happened.
Ukraine could get that access, too.
Polish officials revealed on Thursday that Ukrainian officials may be allowed into the border town to assess the damage, although President Andrzej Duda also said that allowing Ukrainian officials would require agreement from both countries on how the investigation will work.
“If Ukrainian guests want to see the investigation, we will be able to show them, just as I have been shown,” President Duda said, adding that “specific treaty provisions, international law provisions, and international agreements” would be necessary for Ukraine to take part in the investigation.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York.