Ukraine war: NATO locked in crisis talks over missile strike on Poland

NATO representatives are preparing to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels to discuss a deadly missile strike on Poland that raised fears of a wider European war.

Joe Biden, left, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Emmanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak and Justin Trudeau in Bali after the missile strike on Poland. Picture: Reuters

NATO representatives were preparing to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels overnight to discuss a deadly missile strike on Poland that raised fears the conflict in Ukraine could trigger a wider European war involving the US and its NATO allies.

The Russian-made missile struck a Polish farming village about 6km from the Ukrainian border, killing two people, as ­Russian guided weapons pounded Ukrainian targets in the worst ­attacks on the country in months.

The strike on Poland – a NATO member – threw the G20 summit off course, sparking talks between G7 and NATO leaders on the sidelines of the talks in Bali.

Joe Biden cautioned it was “unlikely” it was fired from Russia in comments backed by US press reports suggesting it was a stray Ukrainian interception missile.

“I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate but it’s unlikely (from the) trajectory that it was fired by Russia. But we will see,” the US President said after the meeting with G7 leaders plus those of Spain and The ­Netherlands.

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

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

The suspected missile crater in Przewodow, Poland. Picture: Facebook

Earlier, Anthony Albanese condemned Russia’s “reckless and dangerous use of force”, expressing his condolences to Poland and backing calls for a full investi­gation before an “appropriate ­response”.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong added to the calls for restraint, ­saying it was important to be “prudent and careful” in responding to the missile strike, and warning of the “risk of miscalculation”.

Poland said early on Wednesday local time that the missile was Russian-made but it was unclear from where it was fired. The Kremlin denied any involvement.

“No strikes were made against targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border by Russian means of destruction,” the Russian defence ministry said. “The wreckage published in hot pursuit by the Polish media from the scene in the village of Przewodow has nothing to do with Russian weapons.”

If NATO rules Russia fired the missile on Poland intentionally, it could trigger a collective response under Article 5 of the alliance ­treaty, which states an armed ­attack against one member “shall be considered an attack against them all”.

Turkish President Recep ­Tayyip Erdogan said labelling it a Russian missile strike was ­“provocative”, warning there could have been a technical error.

The NATO nation leader who is closest to Russia’s Vladimir Putin said Russia’s denials were “important” and it was vital the matter was properly investigated.

Mr Albanese met with ­European Council president Charles Michel and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, telling them the missile attacks aimed at Ukraine were “deeply concerning”.

“Russia’s reckless and dangerous use of force promotes danger for the entire region and we’ve seen that overnight and I send my condolences to Poland on the loss of life,” the Prime ­Minister said.

“As (NATO) Secretary-General (Jens) Stoltenberg and President Biden have said, we need to have a full investigation as to how this has occurred, and the circumstances.

“It must take place and then we should consider what as an international community is an appropriate response.”

The Prime Minister flies out of Bali for Thailand late on Thursday AEDT to attend Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation talks – his third major summit of world leaders in a week.

He leaves Bali having secured a commitment from Xi Jinping for the countries to work together to work to improve Australia-China ties in a long-awaited diplomatic breakthrough.

As the G20 summit concluded in Bali, NATO envoys in Brussels were readying for a talks on the security crisis.

Mr Stoltenberg said he would chair the “emergency meeting”.

Mr Biden pledged “full US support” to Poland’s President, declaring his administration was “determined to figure out exactly what happened”.

“Then we are to collectively determine our next step as we investigate and proceed. There was total unanimity among folks at the table,” Mr Biden said.

Amid the chaos, G20 host Joko Widodo pulled off a last-minute consensus statement that stopped short of full condemnation of the war in Ukraine to ­secure China and Russia’s signatures, declaring instead that the conflict was having financial consequences across the world.

But in his address to the final G20 session, Mr Widodo issued his own demand for peace.

“Stop the war. I repeat, stop the war,” he told fellow leaders.

“A lot is at stake. The war only brings sufferings to mankind. Global economic recovery will not happen if the situation doesn’t improve.

“As leaders, we all have responsibility to ensure conducive global situation for the future of the world.”

The strike on Poland came amid a barrage of up to 100 missiles launched against Ukraine in an attack condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “a very significant escalation” in Russia’s nine-month war on his country.

Senator Wong said world leaders should “refrain from wild speculation” until the investi­gation into the strike had been ­finalised.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the potential for an escalation in the war was “deeply ­troubling”.

He said it was vital NATO members assessed “precisely what’s happened and that they take care in their response”.