President Biden has spoken out after the barbaric attack in Poland last night (Picture: Reuters)
US President Joe Biden has cast doubt on the origin of a missile that hit Poland and killed two people late on Tuesday.
The US president said it was ‘unlikely’ the rocket was fired by Russia, speaking after a meeting with G7 and NATO leaders to discuss the incident last night.
According to sources the trajectory of the missile has lead the US to believe the it could have been fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile.
World leaders last night scrambled to discuss the ‘barbaric’ attack.
In the early hours a missile hit a grain silo in Przewodow, near Poland’s border with Ukraine, killing two people.
Ukrainian and Polish authorities said the explosion was caused by a Russian-made missile, but Mr Biden appeared to suggest the missile may not have been fired from Russia.
World leaders are currently in Bali as part of the G20 summit (Picture: AP)
Biden and Sunak met yesterday to discuss the attack in Poland (Picture: Reuters)
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Mr Biden said: ‘There is preliminary information that contests that.
‘I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate it, but it is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see.’
A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: ‘I think, on all sides there’s agreement there needs further investigation before any conclusions are drawn.’
The missile had sparked worried talk of NATO’s Article 5, which means that an attack on a member country is seen as an attack on all allies.
A number of NATO countries used Twitter to voice their support for Poland, including British PM Rishi Sunak, who ‘reiterated the UK’s solidarity with Poland’.
But Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country is ‘very likely’ to instead invoke Article 4 later today, which allows a member country to raise a security issue and have it discussed.
Mr Duda said: ‘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.’
He added: ‘We are acting very calmly.
‘What happened was a one-off incident.
‘There are no indications that there will be a repeat.’
Police officers work at the site after explosions in Przewodow in eastern Poland (Picture: Reuters)
The missile attack killed two people (Picture: Reuters)
Police officers at the site after the missile attack in Przewodow (Picture: Reuters)
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Russia has denied any involvement in the Poland missile, saying that reports of it being to blame are a ‘deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation’.
A spokesperson for the United Nations said that avoiding an escalation in the war is ‘absolutely essential’, adding that a ‘thorough investigation’ should take place.
And a statement following a meeting of G7 leaders on Wednesday morning said: ‘We condemn the barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure on Tuesday.
‘We discussed the explosion that took place in the eastern part of Poland near the border with Ukraine. We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation.
‘We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.’
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Three US officials have said the missile could have been fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile.
