The Belgian government admitted on Wednesday that the missile that killed two people in Poland was fired by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense, contradicting kyiv’s accusations against Russia.
The explosion was “a result of Ukrainian air defense systems, used to combat Russian missiles,” Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder was quoted as saying by the French agency AFP.
“Investigations are continuing, but at the moment there are no indications that it was a deliberate attack,” added the Belgian minister.
Poland called an emergency meeting with its NATO allies after announcing that a “Russian-made projectile” had landed in Przewodów, which borders Ukraine, on Tuesday, killing two people.
Shortly after the incident became known, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the explosion in Poland had been caused by a Russian missile.
“What we have been warning for a long time has happened. Terror is not limited to our national borders. Russian missiles hit Poland, ”he said at the time.
Zelensky reiterated the accusation against Moscow in a message he posted on his website today, but without presenting any evidence.
Russia’s Defense Ministry denied the missile was fired by its forces, which shelled electrical infrastructure in Ukraine on Tuesday.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, said today that there was preliminary information that cast doubt that the missile had been fired from Russia.
“It’s unlikely along the lines of trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see,” Biden told reporters in Bali, where a two-day G20 summit ended today.
The Kremlin (Presidency) welcomed the US restraint and reiterated that Russia “has nothing to do with the incident in Poland.”
“In this case, we must point out the reticent and more professional reaction on the part of the United States and its president,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, quoted by AFP and the Spanish news agency EFE.
Peskov added that the US reaction contrasted with the “absolutely hysterical reaction from Poland and other countries.”
The British newspaper Financial Times reported on Wednesday that the hypothesis that the missile was fired by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense was discussed at an emergency meeting in Bali of G20 members belonging to the G7 and NATO.
Photos published in the media showed a damaged agricultural vehicle next to a large crater.
Polish media said the victims were farm workers.
The war in Ukraine was triggered by Russia on February 24 of this year, when it invaded the neighboring country.
The conflict plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: TSF
