Will the conflict between Russia and Ukraine spread? The eyes are riveted on the village of Przewodow, located in Poland, very close to the border with Ukraine, where an explosion, Tuesday, November 15 in the evening, caused the death of two Polish citizens, according to the spokesman of the government, Piotr Muller. He also announced the strengthening of the alert level of “certain combat units…and other uniformed personnel”.
As a reminder, Article 5 of the Atlantic Alliance Treaty stipulates that if a Member State is the victim of an armed attack, the others will consider this act of violence as an armed attack directed against all the members and will take appropriate measures. deemed necessary to come to the aid of the attacked country. This information, if confirmed, would constitute a serious aggravation of the conflict. This explosion occurred at the end of a particularly intense day in Ukraine.
An emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors organized on Wednesday
An explosion that prompted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to hold an “emergency meeting” on Wednesday with Alliance ambassadors, spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Tuesday evening. A little earlier, thee Polish head of state, Andrzej Duda, spoke with Jens Stoltenberg. This last felt he was “important that all the facts are established”. “NATO is monitoring the situation and the Allies are consulting closely”he wrote on Twitter, presenting his “condolences” for deaths that took place on Polish soil.
Russia denies involvement
On his side, the Russia qualified as “Provocation” these informations in “the aim of creating an escalation of the situation”said the Russian Ministry of Defense on its Telegram account. “No strikes were carried out on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border” by the Russian military, the Defense Ministry said. The pictures of “debris published by the Polish media from the scene of the events in the locality of Przewodow have no connection” with Russian projectiles, he added.
kyiv accuses Moscow of firing missiles at Poland
But Volodymyr Zelensky does not believe this version. The Ukrainian president called the Polish explosion “very important climbing”. “Today Russian missiles hit the Poland, the territory of an allied country. People died”he said in an address to the nation.
“A collective response to Russian actions must be tough and principled. Among the immediate actions: a NATO summit with the participation of Ukraine to work out new joint actions, which will force the Russia to change course on escalation, and provide Ukraine with modern aircraft”said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, on Twitter.
Europe is closely monitoring the situation in Poland
Lhe President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said to himself “shocked” by the “new” on deaths in Poland by “a missile or something”on Twitter Tuesday evening. He announced that he would offer “a coordination meeting on Wednesday with EU leaders” present at the G20 in Bali, after speaking with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, to whom he assured “full EU unity and solidarity in support of Poland”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, neighbor of the Poland, for its part convened a defense council. The Swedish Defense “is following very closely the events and the consequences of the explosions in Poland”says the newspaper correspondent The world in the Scandinavian country. However, the Swedish authorities say they do not see “no activity that threatens Sweden and no further action has been taken at this time”.
French side, Immanuel Macron has “contacted the authorities” of the country and “keeps abreast of the situation”, the Elysée Palace told AFP on Tuesday evening. He asked to carry out the necessary verifications in order to establish the facts in close consultation with the Poland and its NATO allies, according to a government source in franceinfo, which adds that France provides the Poland of his solidarity.
A telephone conversation between the Polish and American presidents
Polish President Andrzej Duda met on the phone with his American counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday evening, announced the Polish presidency. Earlier in the evening, thehe US Department of Defense has announced that it “examined” press reports that two Russian missiles allegedly “hit a place in Poland or at the border with Ukraine”.
Many strikes in Ukraine
Russia fired “one hundred” missile strikes over Ukraine affecting 15 critical energy infrastructures in different regions, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force said. These shots, more numerous than the 83 identified on October 10constitute “one of the most massive strikes since the beginning of the war”, he added. In total, several Millions of Ukrainian homes were without power for part of the day before being reconnected to the grid, Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.