Poland strike from defence shot, NATO says

NATO has announced that Tuesday’s missile attack in eastern Poland that killed two people was caused by Ukrainian defence weaponry fired to defend Ukrainian territory.

The carter and damaged equipment left by a missile strike on a Polish grain farm. Picture: Facebook

NATO has announced that Tuesday’s missile attack in eastern Poland that killed two people was caused by Ukrainian defence weaponry fired to defend Ukrainian territory against a wave of Russian cruise missile attacks.

“Preliminary analysis suggests the incident was caused by Ukrainian defence fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks,’’ NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said late on Wednesday (AEDT).

He added: “This is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues illegal war against Ukraine.”

Mr Stoltenberg refused to reveal whether there was a Russian missile in the immediate area, or whether the Ukraine defence missile exploded on the ground or in the air in contact with a Russian missile.

He defended NATO’s defence on the eastern flank in Poland, explaining that the missile was not shot down by NATO systems because the attacking cruise missiles “have special characteristics” and that while the missile was followed and monitored, it was assessed as not having the characteristics of an attack .

“That explains why the actions were as they were,’’ Mr Stoltenberg said.

The revelations are at odds with earlier denials from the Ukrainian leadership, including from President Volodymyr Zelensky, that the explosion in a rural Polish border town was a Russian attack requiring urgent action from the NATO alliance.

Graphic published in The Australian

Mr Stoltenberg said NATO had increased vigilance across the eastern flank of the alliance.

“There was no indication that this was result of a deliberate ­attack. There is no indication Russia is preparing offensive military actions against NATO,” he said.

The results of the investigations would impact on the consequences about which action to take, he said, but he repeated that Russia was not planning an attack on NATO.

Mr Stoltenberg said NATO offered its deepest condolences on the tragic loss of life and re­affirmed solidarity with Poland, one of its member states.

He said the alliance would continue to support Ukraine in their right to self-defence, adding “Russia must stop this senseless war”.

He said Poland and US leaders had agreed to stay vigilant, calm and closely co-ordinated and monitor the situation carefully.

Mr Stoltenberg said the incident demonstrated how the war in Ukraine was Vladimir Putin’s responsibility and it continued to create dangerous situations.

“Remember this happened at the same time as Russia launched a wave of indiscriminate attacks on Ukrainian cities, attacking critical infrastructure and hitting civilian targets. That in itself is a very dangerous situation, there may be consequences on NATO territory as a result of Russian waging war against Ukraine.”

He said Ukraine had the right to shoot down missiles that were targeting Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Frontline workers inspect the damage. Picture: Reuters

His statement came after Poland and Baltic states had earlier stepped up their military readiness for war and France had warned of major escalation risks after a Russian-made missile struck a Polish grain farm, killing two people. World leaders, however, had been cautious as to the trajectory of the missile and its point of launch, ­despite NATO spy planes constantly monitoring skies above Ukraine and the eastern fringes of Poland.

NATO member countries appeared to be buying time, amid intense sensitivity as to why the missile was launched into the territory of a NATO country.

The missile was launched on Tuesday afternoon local time amid a fresh blitz of Russian ­attacks on facilities in Kyiv and the western areas of Ukraine, leading to blackouts affecting eight million Ukrainians and parts of neighbouring Moldova.

The landing spot of the “stray” missile in rural Przewodow is just a few kilometres from a major electric powerline that connects Ukraine to the EU.

Some energy experts believe the missile may have been targeting this power line, which could have crippled a 220kV connection to the Dobrotwor coal-power plant near Lviv in Ukraine.

It is unclear whether the missile was attracted to the heat of the drying facilities at the grain farm, or was blown out of the sky by Ukrainian defence systems.

Footage from the site shows a 48D6 motor of the 5V55-series missile of the S-300 AD system, which is Ukrainian weaponry.