On Tuesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda stated that it is “highly probable” that Poland will invoke North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Article 4 after a missile strike at a grain silo in Przewodów, which is six kilometres from the Ukraine border, killed two farm workers.
“We do not have any conclusive evidence at the moment as to who launched this missile. It was most likely a Russian-made missile, but this is all still under investigation at the moment,” Duda told reporters, adding, “We are acting with calm. This is a difficult situation.”
#PAD: Wiele wskazuje na to, że była to rakieta obrony powietrznej, która niestety spadła na terytorium Polski. [2/2]
— Kancelaria Prezydenta (@prezydentpl) November 16, 2022
Duda mentioned that the Polish Ambassador to NATO Tomasz Szatkowski “will request to invoke Article 4, that is consultations among the allies.” Similarly, government spokesman Piotr Muller said, “We have decided to undertake a verification of whether there are grounds to activate the procedures under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty,” adding that Poland has decided “to increase the readiness of certain combat units, military units on Polish territory, and to increase the combat readiness of units of uniformed services on the territory of our country.”
NATO’s Article 4 has only been invoked seven times in its 73-year-old history and states: “All NATO decisions are made by consensus, after discussion and consultation among member countries. Consultation between member states is therefore at the heart of NATO since Allies are able to exchange views and information, and discuss issues prior to reaching agreement and taking action.”
Systemy obrony powietrznej oraz wybrane jednostki wojskowe, zarówno wojsk lądowych, jak i marynarki wojennej są postawione w stan podwyższonej gotowości. Wojsko Polskie monitoruje sytuację. Jesteśmy w stałym kontakcie z naszymi sojusznikami. pic.twitter.com/93Qk9uCDVA
— Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) November 16, 2022
Following the strike, Polish Prime Minister (PM) Mateusz Morawiecki convened an urgent meeting of the Council of Ministers Committee on National Security and Defense Affairs.
Duda also spoke with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and United States (US) President Joe Biden regarding the serious situation. Stoltenberg has called for an urgent meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday, while Biden “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to NATO” and expressed Washington’s full support for Poland’s investigation.
I spoke with President Andrzej Duda of Poland to express my deep condolences for the loss of life in Eastern Poland and offer our full support for Poland's investigation of the explosion.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 16, 2022
We will remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as it proceeds. pic.twitter.com/m6OSwcHKtD
The Russian Defence Ministry has denied striking Polish territory, calling it a “deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation.” In fact, on Wednesday, the Russian mission at the United Nations (UN) said that “the incident in Poland is an attempt to provoke a direct military clash between NATO and Russia,” adding that it would be the focus of the UN Security Council meeting later today.
Biden, who was at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali at the time of the strike, called an “emergency roundtable” of NATO members Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, the European Commission, the European Council, and the United Kingdom (UK), as well as non-NATO member Japan. Following the meeting, Biden said that “it is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia but we’ll see.” “There is preliminary information that contests that. I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate it,” he added.
One thing is clear: this would not have happened without Russia’s horrific missile attacks against Ukraine. We continue to support Ukraine in its defence against the Russian aggression. (2/2)
— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) November 16, 2022
An anonymous US official told USA Today that it could be possible that an intercept missile from Ukraine may be responsible for the strike. According to the official, intercept missiles are fired to ward off incoming missiles or to throw them off-course and therefore stop them from hitting the specified targets. However, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba promptly denied the claim, condemning it as a Russian “conspiracy.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the missile strike was a “significant escalation.” “We must put the terrorist in his place! The longer Russia feels impunity, the more threats there will be to everyone who can be reached by Russian missiles,” he asserted.
⚡Russian Defence Ministry:
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) November 16, 2022
❗️ The footage of the wreckage in Przewodów has been identified beyond a shadow of a doubt as elements of S-300 air defence guided missile fired by the Ukrainian Air Force.
👉 https://t.co/Um0JL8V5r3 pic.twitter.com/WOJf1uHRVF
The missile strike on Polish territory came hours after Russia attacked Ukraine with nearly 90 missiles, targeting critical infrastructure and causing emergency blackouts in most parts of the country.