Ukrainian experts are already working at the site of the missile blast that killed two people in Poland earlier this week.
Amid a Russian barrage of missile strikes across Ukraine on Tuesday, one missile left Ukrainian airspace and landed in the town of Przewodow, Poland, which is roughly four miles from the border. The U.S., NATO, and Poland’s preliminary investigation found that the errant missile was a part of Ukraine’s air defense and not a Russian missile. Ukrainian leaders have disagreed.
US CONFIRMS POLAND STRIKE ‘LIKELY THE RESULT OF A UKRAINIAN AIR DEFENSE MISSILE’
“Ukrainian experts are already working at the site of the tragedy in Przewodow caused by Russian missile terror against Ukraine,” Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, said on Twitter Friday. “I am grateful to the Polish side for granting them access. We will continue our cooperation in an open and constructive manner, as closest friends do.”
There were immediate concerns following the strike about the possibility of World War III breaking out, given Poland’s membership in the NATO alliance. Those fears were assuaged following the initial investigation, and officials have said they do not believe the strike was deliberate.
“There is no indication that this was an intentional attack on Poland. Most likely, it was a Russian-made S-300 rocket,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday, later noting there was a “high chance” it was an air defense missile from Ukrainian forces. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters the same, saying they hadn’t seen evidence “that contradicts Duda’s preliminary assessment.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had repeatedly said the rocket did not come from their air defense systems, said his country “insisted” on being included in the joint international investigation during an appearance at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum earlier this week.
He appeared to walk back the heated rhetoric saying, “I don’t know what happened. We don’t know for sure. The world does not know,” according to CNN.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Austin, when asked about Zelensky’s denials, said, “The investigation is still ongoing,” adding, “So we won’t get ahead of the investigation but you know, our information supports what President Duda said earlier in his preliminary assessment … but we’ll let the investigation play out here.”
U.S. and NATO officials were clear to still place blame on Russia for creating the conditions where Ukraine was required to activate its air defense systems.
