U.S. President Joe Biden has said it is «unlikely» that the projectile that hit a town in Poland on Wednesday, killing two people, was fired by Russia, while advocating the completion of the investigation into the event.
«There is preliminary information that puts that in doubt,» he has said, referring to the possibility that Russia launched the projectile. «I don’t want to say anything until we investigate everything, but it is unlikely, given the trajectory, that it was fired from Russia. We will see,» he added.
Thus, he stressed that he has agreed with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, and NATO to «support Poland’s investigation» into the incident. «I am going to make sure that we determine exactly what happened. Our sympathy is with the two people who died,» said the U.S. president.
«We’re going to collectively determine our next step as we investigate and proceed. There is total unanimity,» explained Biden, who pointed to a «consensus» for a NATO meeting at ambassadorial level to discuss Warsaw’s request to activate Article 4 on collective defense.
The tenant of the White House has also denounced the «brutality» and «inhumanity» of Russia with its latest attacks against «Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure», after the attacks executed by the Russian Army against several cities, including the capital, Kiev.
«What they are doing is totally inconceivable,» he criticized, before lamenting that «at a time when the world has united at (the G20 summit) to call for a de-escalation of hostilities, Russia has chosen an escalation in Ukraine.»
Therefore, he emphasized «full support» for Ukraine and stressed that it has been maintained «since the beginning of the conflict.» «We will continue to do whatever it takes to give them the ability to defend themselves,» he has argued.
For his part, the President of Poland stated that the Polish authorities do not have conclusive proof as to who is behind the missile launch, although he specified that the projectiles were of Russian manufacture.
During the last hours, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has had a telephone conversation with the Polish Foreign Minister, Zbigniew Rau, to «discuss the explosion» and has withdrawn «the full support and assistance of the United States to the Polish investigation».
Blinken and Rau have also highlighted «the strength of NATO ties» and emphasized «the importance of the Alliance maintaining close coordination while analyzing the event and appropriate steps,» according to a statement published by the State Department on its website.
Following the incident on Polish territory, the Russian Defense Ministry called the accusations of its involvement «deliberate provocation». It also indicated that the Army has not carried out attacks on targets near the Polish-Ukrainian border, while stressing that the photographs of the missile debris show that it is not the weaponry used by Russia.
