Nov 15 Buonasera Mag- Poland Up-date
Poland-NATO-responses
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
Stories we’re following…
Ukrainian president Zelensky has said that Russian missiles struck Poland, reported Reuters, as the US says that such reports remain unconfirmed.
President Zelensky’s full remarks:
Today, what we we warned about long ago has happened.
We talked about it.
Terror is not limited to our national borders. It has already spread to
the territory of Moldova. And today, Russian missiles hit Poland, the
territory of our friendly country. People died. Please accept
condolences from all Ukrainian brothers!
How many times has Ukraine said that the terrorist state will not be
limited to our country?
Poland, the Baltic states... It’s only a matter of time before
Russian terror goes further. It is necessary to put the terrorist in
place! The longer Russia feels impunity, the more threats there will
be to everyone who can be reached by Russian missiles.
Hitting missiles on NATO territory... This is a Russian missile
attack on collective security! This is a very significant escalation.
We must act.
And I want to say now to all our Polish brothers and sisters...
Ukraine will always support you! Terror will not break free people!
Victory is possible when there is no fear! You and I don’t have it.
I want to thank all partners who helped protect the sky. In
particular, our NASAMS systems worked well today: ten hits out of ten
launches. As of this hour, more than 70 missiles and ten attack
drones have been shot down.
I thank all our American and European friends who helped us to ensure this result.
Thank you to all our soldiers of the “Southern”, “Center”, “East” and
“West” air commands, as well as air defense units of the Ground
Forces.Thanks to all our rescuers, our energy workers, who will work
around the clock to restore normal life for Ukrainians. Restoration
work has begun across the country.
We will get through this too. We will restore everything.
Russia opposes itself to the world. Russia loses on the battlefield.
Russia is terrorizing us and everyone it can reach.Let’s do everything to stop it!
Podolyak: “Strikes on Poland’s territory — not an accident, but a deliberately planned "hello" from Russia, disguised as a "mistake". This happens when evil goes unpunished and politicians engage in "pacification" of aggressor. Ru-terrorist regime must be stopped. Condolences to the dead.”
The Polish government spokesperson Piotr Muller has just given a press conference in the capital Warsaw, where he said the government was raising the military’s level of readiness in response to the explosion near its border with Ukraine.
He told reporters that the government was considering whether to trigger article 4, which would mean a meeting would take place of Nato members after their “territorial integrity, political independence or security” has been threatened.
23:14- Latest- Nato ambassadors will meet on Wednesday at the request of Poland on basis of the alliance’s article 4, two European diplomats have told Reuters. One of the diplomats said the alliance would act cautiously and needed time to verify how exactly the incident happened.
President Biden will be speaking with the Polish president shortly. US President Joe Biden “has been briefed on the reports out of Poland and will be speaking with President Andrzej Duda of Poland shortly," the White House said.
The US National Security Council has also said that it cannot confirm reports of Russian missiles crossing into Poland, writing that it is working to gather more information.
The Biden administration is calling on the US Congress to include additional funding in the must-pass government package for what it said are three "critical funding needs," which includes support for Ukraine. Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi detailing a $37.7 billion request for Ukraine aid, $10 billion for Covid-19 and an unspecified amount for disaster relief.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for talks at the G20 summit following reports of rockets or missiles landing in Poland, according to an Elysee Palace spokesperson on Tuesday. A French defense source told CNN that France was being “extremely cautious” and that officials would not comment until they were able to “analyse all the available information. We are in close contact with the Polish authorities,” the defense source said.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said: "The Farnesina is following the developments in Poland with the utmost attention, in constant contact with Defense, European countries, and NATO allies," Tajani said. "My condolences to the families of the victims. I am close to the Polish people."
Latvia has announced it will convene an emergency meeting on Wednesday to assess the security situation, given reports of Russian missiles crossing into Poland. Along with the announcement, Latvia’s prime minister added that the meeting is “to be ready for further action,” reported Reuters.
The Russian defence ministry in a statement denied that its missiles crossed into Poland, calling the reports a “deliberate provocation.”
“The statements of the Polish media and officials about the alleged fall of “Russian” missiles in the area of Przewoduv is a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation. No strikes on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border were made by Russian rockets. The wreckage published by the Polish media from the scene in the village of Przewoduv has nothing to do with Russian weapons.”
The UK said it is “liaising closely” with allies following reports that rockets or missiles landed in Poland, according to a UK foreign office spokesperson. “We are investigating these reports and liaising closely with Allies,” a UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson told CNN.
