Latest update on 16/11/2022 at 13:55
“Yesterday, rockets fell on major urban centers in Ukraine. Ukraine defended itself. We had a serious clash triggered by Russia.There is no indication that this was an intentional attack on Poland. Most likely, it was a Russian-made S-300 rocket. We have no proof at the moment that it was a missile fired by the Russian side,” Andrej Duda (President of Ukraine) underscored this afternoon through a series of tweets.
“We are in direct contact with our NATO allies. I emphasize – we do not have any circumstantial evidence that would allow us to conclude that it was an attack on Poland. We want to emphasize that the inhabitants of eastern Poland should not be worried about the increased presence of services and the army. We made this decision intentionally. Please stay calm, our safety is assured.
We are dealing with extraordinary events related to the massive Russian attack on Ukraine. Unfortunately, a huge part of the rockets were fired towards western Ukraine,” Duda added.
Jacek Siewiera (Secretary of State, Head of the National Security Bureau of the Republic of Poland) also tweeted: “After the talk of the President Andrej Duda and the President of the United States we remain in close contact with the American side. We exchanged information with Ambassador Brzezinski again . The US offers data and support to explain yesterday’s explosion and reaffirms ironclad allied commitments.”
Investigation ongoin, but blast likely caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile, briefed Stoltenberg
“Since the start of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, NATO has increased vigilance across our eastern flank,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after the meeting. He stated that we need to await the outcome of the ongoing investigation, but “we have no indication that this was the result of a deliberate attack and we have no indication that Russia is preparing offensive military actions against NATO”. He added: “Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks. But let me clear: this is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General expalined today to the press.
Allies made clear that they will continue to support Ukraine in its right to self-defence. They also offered their deepest condolences on the tragic loss of life and expressed their strong solidarity with Poland.
“We agreed that we need to stay vigilant, calm and closely coordinated. We will continue to consult and monitor the situation very closely. NATO stands united and we will always do what is necessary to protect and defend all Allies,” Stoltenberg said.
Image over the headline.- Press conference by Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, following his meeting with Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland on 7 February 2022.© NATO
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