Did Russia attack NATO member Poland? US, UK, France leaders give careful answers

Leaders across the world condemned the “Russian-made” missile attack on NATO-member Poland early on Wednesday. The missile struck the rural Polish village of Przewodow, which is about 6.4 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, around the same time when Russia said it has launched its biggest wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has termed the missile attack as “a very significant escalation in the war”. US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, called for an emergency meeting of G-7 and NATO leaders. Early reports suggested Russia was to blame for the blast but Moscow has denied the allegations. 

Also, after the emergency meeting with G7 and NATO leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit, US President Joe Biden said that preliminary information suggested it was “unlikely” the missile was fired from within Russia. He added that he has offered his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda "full US support for and assistance with Poland's investigation". 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also showed his concern about the Poland explosion and called for a thorough investigation. “It is absolutely essential to avoid escalating the war in Ukraine," his spokesperson said.  

China 

China has urged 'calm and restraint' over the incident in Poland, a report in Reuters stated. China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has said that all parties should “stay calm and exercise restraint under current circumstances”. 

United Kingdom 

Downing Street, in an official statement, said the missile attacks on Ukraine which were coming at a time when world leaders were meeting at G20 was a further demonstration “of contempt Russia has for the international order.” 

France  

France has urged “utmost caution” on the origin of a deadly missile strike on NATO member Poland, saying many countries in the region have similar weapons, a report in AFP stated. 

“It's logical that we approach the question with utmost caution... Many countries have the same kind of weapons, so identifying the type of missile won't necessarily identify who is behind it," a French government official said. 

Germany
 
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also expressed solidarity with Polish President Andrzej Duda. He has said that Germany stands closely by the side of our NATO partner Poland.

Italy 

Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed “great apprehension and concern” over the missile explosion, a report in Reuters stated. Meloni is meeting with Nato and European allies to consider possible steps. 

Turkey
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he respects Russia's statement that Russian missiles had not hit Polish territory, adding that he believes Moscow had "nothing to do with it." 

At a news briefing at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, he said: "Russia saying this has nothing to do with them and (US President Joe) Biden saying these missiles are not Russian-made show that this has nothing to do with Russia."  

Japan  

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who also attended an emergency meeting of G7 advanced economies and NATO member nations held on Wednesday, said that Japan is “very concerned" and watching developments closely. 

NATO 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a written statement said: “I offered my condolences for the loss of life. NATO is monitoring the situation and Allies are closely consulting. Important that all facts are established.”