November 15, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The deadly explosion in eastern Poland — a NATO member country — has raised fears of a further escalation in the months-long Russia-Ukraine war.

• What Poland says: Poland's Foreign Ministry said late Tuesday that a "Russian-made missile" landed on the Polish village of Przewodów, near the border with Ukraine, killing two people. The ministry did not specify the type of missile or where it was fired from, but the country's President said it was "most likely produced in Russia." The incident was a "single act" and there is no evidence of further missiles, Poland's prime minister said.
• Unanswered questions: The circumstances surrounding the incident, which marks the first time a NATO country has been directly struck during the almost nine-month conflict, remain unclear — including who fired the missile and where it was fired from. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have used Russian-made munitions during the conflict, with Ukraine deploying Russian-made missiles as part of their air defense system.
• Why it's raising tensions: Poland, a NATO member, said Warsaw is considering invoking the defense alliance's Article 4 to discuss its concerns and will also increase the combat readiness of some Polish troops. Article 4 is a consultation method that allows members of the 30-country alliance to bring an issue — usually about security — affecting them for discussion at the North Atlantic Council, its decision-making body.
• Reports from the ground: A local resident told CNN they heard a terrifying “whoosh” as a projectile flew over the town. CNN's Matthew Chance spoke to a caretaker of a local school who said the force of the blast shook classroom windows, though students were not inside the school when the explosion occurred. Polish media reported that a projectile had landed on a farm in the country — roughly the same time as Russia launched its biggest wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month. 

• World leaders' reaction: Speaking after an emergency meeting with G7 and NATO allies at the G20 summit in Bali, President Biden said preliminary information suggests it is unlikely the missile was fired from within Russia. Biden said the allies would support Poland's investigation, which would "collectively determine our next step as we investigate and proceed," adding there was "total unanimity" among the leaders.
• What Russia says: In a statement late Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said reports of the explosion were "a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation." "There were no strikes made on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border," it said, adding photos of wreckage published by Polish media "from the scene in the village of Przewodow have nothing to do with Russian weapons."
• What happens next: In a joint statement following their G20 summit meeting, NATO and G7 leaders said they offered "full support" for Poland and would "remain in close touch" to determine the appropriate next steps. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will chair an emergency meeting of alliance ambassadors Wednesday morning in Brussels to discuss the incident.

NATO and G7 leaders released a joint statement following their emergency meeting on the margins of the G20, condemning the “barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure on Tuesday.”

At least a dozen cities and districts were targeted, according to a CNN analysis of the missile strikes. The wave of strikes appears to be the largest since Oct. 10, when Russia stepped up its campaign to destroy electricity, water and gas infrastructure across Ukraine. 

"We all express our condolences to the families of the victims in Poland and Ukraine," the joint statement said.

Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart earlier Tuesday, according to a readout provided by the Pentagon.

Milley discussed the Russian invasion and "exchanged perspectives and assessments" with Ukrainian Armed Forces Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, it said.

The chairman also reaffirmed US support for Ukraine, the readout added.

It comes after a missile exploded in Poland, near the Ukrainian border, killing two people Tuesday.

Milley also spoke with his Polish counterpart, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Rajmund Andrzejczak, according to a readout:

“The two leaders discussed Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the loss of life near Poland’s border, and agreed to remain in touch as the investigation proceeds."

A NATO aircraft flying above Polish airspace on Tuesday tracked the missile that landed in the country, an alliance military official told CNN on Tuesday.

“Intel with the radar tracks [of the missile] was provided to NATO and Poland,” the NATO military official added. 

NATO aircraft have been conducting regular surveillance around Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. The aircraft flying above Poland on Tuesday was monitoring events in Ukraine. 

The NATO official did not say who launched the missile that was tracked landing in Poland, nor where it was fired from.

US President Joe Biden said that preliminary information suggests it is unlikely the missile that caused an explosion in Poland on Tuesday and killed two civilians was fired from within Russia.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with other world leaders in Bali, Indonesia, the president was asked if it was too early to say whether the projectile was fired from Russia.

"There is preliminary information that contests that. I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate it," Biden responded.

He added that "it’s unlikely in the minds of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see."

Earlier, Russia's Defense Ministry said reports of Russian missiles landing in Poland were a "deliberate provocation."

US President Joe Biden Biden said that he met with G7 and NATO leaders in Bali Wednesday and they agreed to support Poland's investigation into the explosion that happened at a village near the Ukraine border.

The leaders held an emergency meeting following the incident. Biden said he briefed the leaders on his earlier discussion with Polish President Andrzej Duda and with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"We agreed to support Poland's investigation into the explosion in rural Poland near the Ukrainian border. And I'm going make sure we figure out exactly what happened," Biden said, adding that they offered sympathy over the death of two people in the explosion. "Then we're going to collectively determine our next step as we investigate and proceed. There was total unanimity among the folks at the table," he added.

US President Joe Biden and leaders from the G7 and NATO are holding a previously unscheduled meeting in Bali to discuss the explosion in Poland that killed two people.

The meeting attendees include Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.

When the group was briefly captured on camera Wednesday morning local time, Biden was asked whether he could tell reporters more about what he knows about the explosion in Poland.

"No," Biden replied before cameras were escorted out of the room.

Biden spoke earlier with Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Biden and other world leaders are gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali for the G20 summit.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that evidence suggests the missile that landed in Przewodów in eastern Poland was a "single act" and there is no evidence of further missiles. 

However, Poland is increasing their military readiness, Morawiecki said Tuesday during his address in Warsaw following the Council of Ministers meeting. 

"We decided to increase the combat readiness of selected units of the Polish armed forces, with particular emphasis on airspace monitoring," Morawiecki said, explaining that “airspace monitoring is and will be carried out in an enhanced manner together with our allies." 

Earlier, the Polish foreign ministry said a "Russian-made missile" had landed in the town near the Ukrainian border and killed two people.