President Joe Biden and his NATO and Group of Seven counterparts presented a united front after Russia launched an intense aerial assault on Ukraine.
“We condemn the barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure on Tuesday,” they wrote after convening an emergency meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders summit in Bali, Indonesia.
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Biden, along with his colleagues from Canada, the European Commission, the European Council, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, also discussed the explosion of what Poland has described as a “Russian-made” missile near its border with Ukraine, killing two people in the rural town of Przewodow. Russia has denied its involvement, calling allegations “deliberate provocation(s) aimed at escalating the situation.”
“We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation,” the Western bloc said Wednesday morning local time. “We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.”
They reaffirmed their “steadfast” partnership with Ukraine amid Russia’s aggression and their continued readiness to hold Russia accountable for its “brazen” strikes, “even as the G-20 meets to deal with the wider impacts of the war.”
Biden, who has spoken on the telephone with Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, earlier told reporters it is “unlikely” the Polish missile was launched from Russia.
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“There is preliminary information that contests that,” he said. “I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate. But it’s unlikely, in the minds of the trajectory, that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see. We’ll see.”
