The federal government is monitoring “very closely” reports indicating Russian missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, National Defence Minister Anita Anand says.
The apparent strike was in Przewodow, a Polish village near the border with Ukraine, a senior U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation.
If confirmed, the strike would mark the first time in the war that Russian weapons have come down on a NATO country.
Firefighters responding to the scene said two people died, but it was not clear what happened, Reuters reported. Russia was striking Ukraine’s energy facilities throughout the day with its biggest barrage of missiles yet, hitting targets from east to west and causing widespread blackouts.
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Russia slams Ukraine in heaviest missile strikes of war
Russia’s defence ministry denied the reports, describing them as a deliberate provocation.
“I am aware of the reports. It would be imprudent for me to comment on them at this point. I am in close touch with our Polish allies and we are monitoring the situation very closely,” Anand told reporters in Ottawa.
“As I said, we are monitoring the situation. I am receiving updates regarding this report and very closely in touch with our Polish allies at this time. It would be imprudent for me to comment further.”
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Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller did not immediately confirm the information, but said top leaders were holding an emergency meeting due to a “crisis situation,” the Associated Press reported.
He later said President Andrzej Duda was talking to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about invoking Article 4, which would trigger a discussion of the situation within the North Atlantic Council that would decide on an appropriate response.
He added Poland was increasing the readiness of some military units, Reuters reported. Duda will also convene his national security council on Wednesday.
Stoltenberg confirmed he had spoken with Duda but did not address any further actions NATO might take, adding it was “important that all facts are established” first.
Polish Radio ZET reported that two stray missiles hit Przewodow, killing two people, without giving any more details.
The Pentagon said it could not confirm those reports on Tuesday afternoon.
“We are aware of the press reports alleging that two Russian missiles have struck a location inside Poland near the Ukraine border. I can tell you that we don’t have any information at this time to corroborate those reports and are looking into this further,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told a news briefing.
A NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, said the alliance was looking into reports of a strike in Poland. The U.S. National Security Council said it was also looking into the reports, adding later it could not confirm anything after discussions with its Polish counterparts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the alleged Russian attack on Poland “a significant escalation” of the conflict, but provided no evidence to prove Russia was responsible.
He said the incident was proof that his repeated warnings of “Russian terror” expanding beyond Ukraine were coming to pass, and urged NATO to strike back.
“The longer Russia feels impunity, the more threats there will be to anyone within reach of Russian missiles,” he said in his nightly video address, which was posted to his Telegram channel.
“To fire missiles at NATO territory! This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a very significant escalation. We must act.”
However, Latvian media reported that both the country’s defence minister and head of the armed forces said in an interview it was unlikely NATO’s Article 5 — which states that an “armed attack” on any member nation must be treated as an attack on the entire military alliance — will be invoked.
Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš later called an emergency government meeting for Wednesday morning to hear reports on regional security and “to be ready for further action.” Latvia shares a border with Russia as well as Kremlin ally Belarus.
“Latvia and its NATO allies are ready for any situation to defend their citizens and territories,” he said on Twitter.
In a tweet, Estonia’s foreign affairs ministry called the news “concerning.” Estonia shares a border with Russia.
“Estonia is ready to defend every inch of NATO territory. We’re in full solidarity with our close ally Poland,” the ministry said.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said his country was consulting with allies about “a united and resolute response.”
“It is an extremely serious incident,” he said in a statement.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said if the reports were true, the incident would be an escalation by Russia. Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda tweeted support for Poland, and that “every inch of NATO territory must be defended!”
European Union leaders also condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with Poland. “Europe is Przewodow,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in a tweet.
The explosion in Poland came amid a barrage of Russian missiles that struck power facilities across Ukraine, which officials in Kyiv called “the most massive” bombardment of energy infrastructure in the nearly nine-month-long war.
Zelenskyy said Russia fired at least 85 missiles, most of them aimed at the country’s power facilities, and blacked out many cities.
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The aerial assault, which resulted in at least one death in a residential building in the capital, Kyiv, followed days of euphoria in Ukraine sparked by one of its biggest military successes — the retaking last week of the southern city of Kherson.
The power grid was already battered by previous attacks that destroyed an estimated 40 per cent of the country’s energy infrastructure.
The barrage also affected neighboring Moldova. It reported massive power outages after the strikes knocked out a key power line that supplies the small nation, an official said.
Many of NATO’s leaders — including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden — are currently in Indonesia for the G20 summit, which Zelenskyy addressed remotely early Tuesday morning and urged allies to stand united against Russia.
Biden spoke with Duda on the phone from Indonesia to offer his support, the White House confirmed.
A formal condemnation of Russia’s invasion and nuclear threats by the G20 — which counts Russia as a member, despite President Vladimir Putin not attending this week’s summit — could come on Wednesday.
— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters
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