Ukrainian, Polish leaders discuss suspected missile strike killing 2 near border

ISTANBUL

Ukrainian and Polish leaders on Wednesday discussed the suspected missile attack near Poland’s border with Ukraine which resulted in the death of two civilians.

“Had a call with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Expressed condolences over the death of Polish citizens from Russian missile terror. We exchanged available information and are clarifying all the facts. Ukraine, Poland, all of Europe and the world must be fully protected from terrorist Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a tweet.

No statement was released from the Polish side about the phone call.

Prior to his talks with the Polish leader, Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately attacking Poland, saying: “What we warned about a long time ago also happened today. Terror is not limited to our national borders. Russian missiles hit Poland.”

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki convened a high-level meeting on an urgent basis on Tuesday soon after reports of the explosion started coming in, according to government spokesman Piotr Muller.

The Polish Foreign Ministry later said that the missiles which fell on a village in the country’s east were Russian made.

US President Joe Biden said that it was “unlikely” that the missiles were fired from Russia. Biden also spoke with Duda and offered Washington’s support in an investigation into the reported explosion.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said no strikes were made against targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border by Russian means of destruction.

“The fragments published in hot pursuit by the Polish media from the scene in the village of Przewodow have nothing to do with Russian weapons,” it said, adding that “statements from Polish media and officials about the alleged fall of ‘Russian’ missiles are a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation.”

• Andrzej Duda
• Poland
• Ukraine
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy