(Finance) – At the moment the United States has not collected any evidence that “contradicts the preliminary assessment of President Duda according to which the missile that exploded in Poland was Ukrainian”. That’s what she said US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson underlining however that beyond the conclusions of the investigation “it is clear that Russia is ultimately responsible for this tragic incident, which has launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine intended to hit civilian infrastructure”. “Ukraine – added Watson – had, and has, every right to defend itself”
The thesis is, therefore, that of one “unfortunate accident”, probably a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that went the wrong way, but a deliberate attack against Poland or NATO is ruled out.
In the aftermath of the most dangerous day since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the fall of a missile in Polish village of Przewodow, a handful of kilometers from the Ukrainian border, which caused the death of two civilians and risked dragging the West directly into the conflict in defense of an ally, after a night of tension, the escalation was avoided. A conclusion that was reached after a mutual exchange of accusations between Moscow and Kievwith the first accusing Ukraine of “classical provocation” and of “dreaming of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia to save itself”, and the second pointing the finger east without hesitation: “It was a missile Russian, we have proof.”
After the information from the US 007s that hypothesized a shot off the trajectory of the Ukrainian air defense, it was the Polish president Andrzej Duda himself who admitted the possibility of an “unfortunate accident”. Confirmation came from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, after the extraordinary meeting of the Atlantic Council: “The investigations are underway, the preliminary results say it was a Ukrainian missile. Kiev is not to blame”. The responsibility must in fact be sought in “Vladimir Putin’s war”, against which the allies will continue to support and arm Ukraine, the secretary general remarked, summarizing the position of the West, from the White House to Giorgia Meloni.
The Alliance has strengthened “surveillance on the eastern side, both with ground troops and with air defences”, but – he specified Stoltenberg – there will be no no-fly zone, long invoked by Kiev in the first weeks of the conflict before collecting the large military supplies necessary for its defence: such a measure would cause a further escalation that the allies want to avert at all costs.
Russia and the West agree that it was a Russian-made S-300 missile, but also used by Ukrainian forces. Volodymyr Zelensky, instead, he has no doubts: “The missile was Russian”, he declared, reporting information received from the command of his armed forces and air force. Words judged irresponsible by the Hungarian government. But for Zelensky “Russia wanted to send a message to the G20 summit”, which in Bali effectively sanctioned Moscow’s international isolation. Kiev is asking that it be granted “immediate access” to the place where the missile fell and to the investigations coordinated by the USA and Poland.
US sources told CNN that Ukraine told theBiden administration that it tried to intercept a Russian missile yesterday right near the Polish border and “in the same time frame” as the Przewodow countryside was hit, but it is unclear whether it was the same missile that actually fell.