The eyes remained riveted on Poland, Wednesday, November 17, the day after the explosion which killed two people in the town of Przewodow, located near the Ukrainian border. The risk of a major escalation in the conflict receded as the day progressed after NATO officials contradicted accusations from kyiv that the missile launch against Poland was a Russian origin.
> > Missile fell in Poland: what we know about the explosion that left two dead in a village near the border with Ukraine
Indeed, the tragedy raised fears that NATO would be drawn into the conflict in Ukraine, Poland being protected by a collective defense commitment by the Atlantic Alliance. “The incident was probably caused by a Ukrainian air defense system missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missiles,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said after a crisis meeting in Brussels.
Volodymyr Zelensky calls for access to “all data” of Westerners
The Ukrainian President finally demanded access to “all data” Westerners and at the site of the explosion for Ukrainian experts. “We want to establish all the details, every fact”underlined Volodymyr Zelensky in his traditional evening address.
A request that seems to reflect a change in the position of the Ukrainian president. The latter asserted throughout the day that there is “no doubt that missile was not ours”. “It was a Russian missile”he hammered.
Strikes against the Ukrainian electricity network, a “war crime” according to Washington
Russia has “failed” on all fronts in its war against Ukraine, said Wednesday, November 16, the American Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley. The officer went even further, mentioning the dozens of Russian strikes that hit Ukraine on Tuesday. “Deliberately targeting the civilian power grid, causing excessive collateral damage and unnecessary suffering to the civilian population, is a war crime”he continued.
A tough week ahead for Ukrainians
These strikes, which killed at least one person in kyiv (Moscow denies having targeted the capital), led to widespread power cuts in Ukraine and as far as neighboring Moldova on Tuesday. And the consequences could well run until the week to come. She will “hard” for residents of the Kyiv region, regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba warned, because “the destruction is important” and “we expect (…) temperatures will drop to -10 degrees”.
The hypothesis of a projectile from the Ukrainian defense favored by Washington
The White House said in the evening that it had “nothing seen that contradicts” the hypothesis, put forward by Warsaw, that the missile that fell in Poland came from, “in all probability”Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense. “That being said, whatever the final conclusions, it is clear that Russia is ultimately responsible for this tragic incident.”National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
From Bali (Indonesia), where the G20 met for a summit, US President Joe Biden also judged “unlikely” that the missile was fired by Russia. “I’ll make sure we can figure out what exactly happened” before deciding on a reaction., he said after an emergency meeting Wednesday of the leaders of the great powers of the G7 (United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Japan). A “restraint” hailed by Moscow.
The Polish president calms the game
For his part, the Polish President, Andrzej Duda, considered earlier on Wednesday as “highly probable” that the missile in question comes from the Ukrainian defence. “There is no indication that this was an intentional attack on Poland”he told the press. “It’s probably an unfortunate accident, alas!”
And he wasn’t the only one wanting to lower the tension. In addition to the Polish president, all Western leaders have called for the greatest caution. He is “absolutely essential to avoid the escalation of the war in Ukraine”urged UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, calling for a “thorough investigation”.