Russia 'Bears Full Responsibility' For Poland Blast: Ukraine

A large explosion has killed two people in the Polish village of Przewodów, close to the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Ukraine on Thursday said that Russia was ultimately responsible for a deadly missile blast in Poland this week, after Washington said it was likely fired by Ukrainian air defence.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba made the statement after speaking to US State Secretary Antony Blinken.

"I had a call with @SecBlinken right during another massive missile attack on Ukraine this morning. We share the view that Russia bears full responsibility for its missile terror and its consequences on the territory of Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova," Kuleba tweeted.

I thanked the U.S. for its crucial defense assistance and emphasized that deliveries of air defense systems to Ukraine need to be sped up. NASAMS have proved their efficiency already. I am also convinced that the time for “Patriots” has come. 2/2

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) November 17, 2022

A large explosion on Tuesday killed two people in the Polish village of Przewodów, close to the Ukrainian border. It occurred during a massive Russian bombardment, with around 100 missiles fired at civilian and infrastructure targets across Ukraine. The incident took place during a mass Russian bombardment aimed at civilian infrastructure inside Ukraine.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia, the United States came out firmly in support of Warsaw's assessment that the deadly missile was probably fired by Kyiv.

Both Warsaw and NATO stated that the explosion in the village was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile launched to intercept a Russian barrage, news agency AFP reported. Notably, both stressed that Moscow was ultimately to blame for starting the conflict.

The White House stated it had "seen nothing that contradicts" Poland's preliminary assessment, while also asserting that "the party ultimately responsible for this tragic incident is Russia."

On the other hand, President Zelenskyy maintained that Kyiv had seen no proof to establish that the missile was Ukrainian. He said his government is ready to be part of any investigation as he sought access to the blast site as well as "all the data" on the projectile.

"I have no doubt that this is not our missile," Zelenskyy said. "I believe that this was a Russian missile, based on our military reports," he added, as per AFP.

In the immediate aftermath, the incident sparked fears of a major new escalation.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that Poland had not invoked Article 4 of the Western alliance's treaty obliging members to discuss whether "the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened".

As per the AFP report, EU diplomats meeting in Brussels praised Warsaw for its measured response.

(With AFP Inputs)