Ukraine's Zelenskiy blames Russian missiles for deadly Poland explosion

Reuters

Published Nov 15, 2022 03:32PM ET

Updated Nov 15, 2022 04:18PM ET

By Bogdan Kochubey

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday, without producing evidence, that Russian missiles had hit Poland, a NATO country, in what he called a "significant escalation" of the conflict.

"Russian missiles hit Poland, the territory of our friendly country. People died," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Two people were killed in an explosion in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, local firefighters said on Tuesday.

The cause remained unclear. Russia's defence ministry denied reports that Russian missiles had hit Polish territory, describing the reports as "a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation".

In Washington, the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department said they could not confirm Russian missiles had landed on Polish territory but were investigating.

On Tuesday, Russia had launched more than 100 missile and drone attacks on Ukraine in the latest escalation of its invasion. Zelenskiy said that only about 10 hit their targets.

"The longer Russia feels impunity, the more threats there will be to anyone within reach of Russian missiles. To fire missiles at NATO territory! This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a very significant escalation. We must act," he said.

Poland is a member of the U.S.-led Western military alliance NATO, which is committed to collective defence, and the possibility that the Polish explosion resulted from an intentional or accidental Russian strike raised alarm.