Polish President Duda has told press that Polish investigations have found the missile impact that killed two civilians on the Polish/Ukrainian border was not intentional and that they could find no definitive proof that Russia fired it. He also told press that the rocket is an S-300 Surface-to-air missile.
Prezydent @AndrzejDuda: Nic nie wskazuje na to, ?e by? to intencjonalny atak na Polsk?. Najprawdopodobniej by?a to rakieta produkcji rosyjskiej typu S-300. Nie mamy w tej chwili dowód na to, ?e by?a to rakieta wystrzelona przez stron? rosyjsk?. [1/2]
— Kancelaria Prezydenta (@prezydentpl) November 16, 2022
This announcement seems to deescalate the situation even as other NATO members are still opting to hold Russian accountable despite the inconclusive evidence. For example, Slovenian President Tonin told press that the victims’ death was a result of Russian aggression, no matter who fired the missile and a tragic accident.
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki also told press that the strike seems to be “an unfortunate accident” and there is no need to invoke Article IV proceedings, but that raising the alert level of Polish and NATO forces was necessary for security and defense.
President Duda made this announcement during a meeting of the Polish National Security Bureau where Polish policy makers and military officials likely weighed options of sending Polish troops into Western Ukraine and establishing a no-fly zone in Western Ukraine. Both options have been non-recommended by the German government which believes this would directly confront the Russian Federation and it does not look like the Polish government would take those steps. However, the German government did offer the Polish government an enhanced air patrol contingent of Eurofighters to help patrol its bordering airspace with Ukraine.
Yesterday’s missile impact was during the largest long range fires attack on Ukrainian soil from Russia since February 24th, 2022. The Russian Federation fired more than 85 missile against the Ukrainian electrical grid and other key infrastructure, raising suspicions that the impact in Poland was a Russian missile.
As of writing this report, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), published that 40% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed, showcasing a resilient Ukrainian response in the last 24 hours in that energy companies were able to reestablish power to eight million customers the same day of the attack, according to President Zelensky.
?????? ????????? ????? 40 ????????? ?????????????? ?????????????? ???????, ??????? ???????? ??????????????, ??????? ???????????? ????, ????? ? ???????? ?????? ? ?????? ?????, ????? ??????????? ????? ?????????? ?? 20 ???????? ???? ????.
?? https://t.co/NYjyyyaQ3l pic.twitter.com/EpVMvjfs0a— U.S. Mission to OSCE (@usosce) November 16, 2022
