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US and Poland have been in contact with Ukraine over missile incident

19.11.2022 12:11
“US and Polish officials have been in touch with Ukraine to clarify the facts” about the missile incident in Poland, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre has said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.Twitter/Marekwalkuski

At a press briefing on Friday, Jean Pierre added that the American government has “been public about the fact that our information supports President's Duda's preliminary assessment that this was most likely the result of a Ukrainian air defense missile that, unfortunately, landed in Poland. But the bottom line is Ukraine has the right to defend itself”.

According to Reuters, Warsaw and its Western allies say evidence from the scene points to an explosion caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile that “strayed” in pursuit of a Russian missile.

On Wednesday, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said: “We have full confidence in the Polish government's investigation of this explosion, and they've been conducting that investigation in a professional and deliberate manner, and so we won't get ahead of their work. And we're going to stay in close touch with our Polish counterparts, as well as with our NATO allies and other valued partners”. He added that regardless of the final results of the investigation, the ultimate blame for the incident lies with Russia.

Kyiv denies it was a Ukrainian missile. It claims to have evidence of a „Russian trace” in the explosion.

Russian forces carried out a massive missile attack against Ukraine on Tuesday afternoon, targeting mainly energy facilities. On that day, a missile fell in the village of Przewodów, located near the Ukrainian border, and an explosion occurred, killing two Poles.

(jh)

Source: PAP