Report: Russian Missiles Hit NATO Member Poland, Killing 2
[guest post by Dana]
A Russian missile barrage on the Ukrainian power grid sent the war spilling over into neighboring countries Tuesday, hitting NATO member Poland and cutting electricity to much of Moldova.
It was Russia’s biggest barrage yet, and some of the missiles crossed into Poland, where two people were killed, according to a U.S. official. It marked the first time in the war that Russian weapons have come down on a NATO country.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller did not immediately confirm the information from a senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation. But Mueller said top leaders were holding an emergency meeting due to a “crisis situation.”
Polish media reported that two people died Tuesday afternoon after a projectile struck an area where grain was drying in Przewodów, a Polish village near the border with Ukraine.
The White House said it “could not confirm” the report. A State Dept. representative said at a presser minutes ago that they echo the White House and cannot verify the report or any of the details at this time. However, they are working with Poland as the Polish government investigates the matter. They will consider appropriate next steps after they assess and get more information. The representative also said that they do not want to engage in hypotheticals at this point. He reiterated that the United States continues to stand with Ukraine and with NATO.
Exercise caution but make no mistake about Russia’s true nature:
Good to wait for more information. But if it’s as it appears, please don’t call this an “accident”. Murdering Poles may be a mistake, or perhaps a test. Russia has been raining down missiles all over Ukraine, a clear security threat to Poland and NATO.
Russia will say it’s fake, a provocation, a Ukrainian trick, an accident, etc. A dozen denials and a hundred lies. Then Putin will watch and see the response, as he did after shooting down MH17. Do his targets announce retribution or an investigation?
Well, that didn’t take long:
Russia's official response about today's events in Poland: pic.twitter.com/aP8ugJlMAe
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) November 15, 2022
I’ll try to update the thread as more information becomes available.
–Dana
Assuming it is true, I am surprised it took this long to happen, either as an “accident” or deliberate attack.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/15/2022 @ 12:13 pmAccording to Zelensky, Russia fired 85 missiles mostly fired at power facilities in the country.
Dana (1225fc) — 11/15/2022 @ 12:13 pmAhhhhh yes. The fog of war. Remember when JFK responded immediately and bombed the SAM site in Cuba that shot down Anderson’s U2? Or when LBJ ordered B-52s to bomb Israel for attacking the USS Liberty? Or when Reagan immediately ordered air strikes on the Kamchatka Peninsula after the Rooskies downed KAL007? Nope.
This could end up being a diplomatic catalyst to end this massive waste of blood and treasure.
DCSCA (6e5b01) — 11/15/2022 @ 12:32 pm@2. That fits w/their current wintering strategy. Hard to believe it was a “deliberate attack.” This is the same issue K and JFK tried to manage in ’62. And lest we forget:
‘The USS Vincennes accidently shot down Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian commercial flight, killing two hundred and ninety innocent people, among them sixty-six children.’
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/us-navy-destroyed-airliner.html?edg-c=1
It’s nearly impossible to control every element, everywhere. It’s a lesson that keeps having to be learned. All the more reason to use these incidents as a path to a diplomatic solution.
DCSCA (6e5b01) — 11/15/2022 @ 12:44 pmIt couldn’t have been anything else than a Russian missile – it was probably not intended to fall into Poland – but then it maybe was not intended to hit any particular target – but the missiles were fired at random and was intended to get to any part of Ukraine.
It is possible this was a missile hit by Ukrainian defenses. We’ll learn if this was a missile that worked, or a “destroyed” one. We don’t get to hear if any missiles stopped fell somewhere else and hurt people or buildings.
Russia has ust denied targeting anything near the Polish-Ukrainian border/
Sammy Finkelman (9905c7) — 11/15/2022 @ 12:47 pmRusi
The smartest thing non NATO member Zelinskyy can do now is quash his bellicose ‘advice,’ and let the true powers that be in this ‘proxy’ mess manage this incident. NATO Poland isn’t non-NATO Ukraine.
DCSCA (6e5b01) — 11/15/2022 @ 12:50 pmIt is possible this was a missile hit by Ukrainian defenses
Fox was reporting that- fragmentation- but it’s all still sketchy– and really doesn ‘t matter in the end. An errant Russian missile knocked down or impacted has to be accounted for.
DCSCA (6e5b01) — 11/15/2022 @ 12:52 pmRemember, the 101st Airborne is close by.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/15/2022 @ 1:01 pmIt could be a Ukrainian S300 missile, fired in defense of incoming Russian missiles. Putin is still ultimately responsible, because Ukraine wouldn’t have fired them otherwise.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/15/2022 @ 2:02 pmI am not clear whether it was one missile or two. Poland says it was made in Russia — but that doesn’t tell you much. David Martin of CBS mentioned both a Ukrainian missile and debris as possibilities.
Of course, whatever happened it is all Russia’s fault. But if Russia wanted to avoid this, they may be more careful in the future.
Russia fired some 900 missiles today apparently chiefly aimed at the electrical grid.
Ukraine feels it is revenge for victory but I think it is just Putin grasping at straws.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:42 pm90 missiles not 900
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:42 pmRussia is having to get military weapons from North Korea.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:42 pmPoland did not invoke Article V but only Artile IV
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:44 pm@8 101 airborne near by. So? This aint grenada.
asset (adb800) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:19 pmThe White House is asking Congress for another $37.7 billion for Ukraine
aka Biden’s FTX bailout plan
JF (71cebd) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:44 pmBiden says it’s ‘unlikely’ that missile that hit Poland was fired from Russia
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, and KYIV, Ukraine — President Biden said it was “unlikely” that a missile that caused an explosion in eastern Poland was fired from Russia, but he said the information was “preliminary” and said Poland’s allies would support a full investigation.
The explosion came as Russia unleashed a wave of missile strikes Tuesday at cities across Ukraine, hitting residential buildings and knocking out electricity in urban areas. In neighboring Poland, two people were killed in an explosion at a grain processing facility, just a few miles from its border with western Ukraine.- npr.com
Joe. Your fly is down.
DCSCA (008acd) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:53 pmBiden says ‘unlikely’ missile that struck Poland came from Russia
President Biden revealed late Tuesday that the missile in a deadly strike on Polish soil was “unlikely” to have been fired from Russia.
Biden, 79, told reporters at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia that a preliminary analysis of the missile’s trajectory appears to “contest” initial speculation that it was fired by Vladimir Putin’s invading force.
“There is preliminary information that contests that,” Biden said when asked by a reporter: “Is it too early to say whether this missile was fired from Russia?”
“I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate, but it is — I — it’s unlikely, in the minds of the trajectory, that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see. We’ll see,” he added.
The commander-in-chief went on to say that G7 and NATO leaders agreed during an emergency meeting “to support Poland’s investigation” into the blast in the rural southeastern part of the country, near the Ukrainian border.
Biden also said that the next steps would be determined by the outcome of that probe.
https://nypost.com/2022/11/15/biden-says-unlikely-missile-that-struck-poland-came-from-russia/
DCSCA (008acd) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:55 pmUkraine’s Zelenskiy blames Russian missiles for deadly Poland explosion
KYIV, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday, without producing evidence, that Russian missiles had hit Poland, a NATO country, in what he called a “significant escalation” of the conflict… “To fire missiles at NATO territory! This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a very significant escalation. We must act,” he said.”
Hmmm…
CNN reports sources say U.S. officials w/access to data tracking rocket trajectories say the Russian-made missile which fragmented and landed in Poland, killing two, was fired by Ukraine.
And so blows the fog…
MEMO to Fidel Z: STFU or Uncle Joe will cut off your allowance.
DCSCA (9368b6) — 11/16/2022 @ 2:44 amTurns out my theory was correct, and it’s also correct that Putin is ultimately responsible for those deaths. Ukraine wouldn’t have fired those intercepting missiles in the first place had Putin not launched a barrage on civilian and infrastructure targets.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/16/2022 @ 6:35 amPaul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/16/2022 @ 6:35 am
It couldn’t really have been anything else. If Russia intended to fire into Poland, it wouldn’t have fired just one missile. They were targeting something in Lviv.
People just don’t realize how often air defense – even what’s considered good high quality air defense – goes astray.
I don’t know what Biden meant that it was not fired from within Russia>
Are most of the missile they fire fired within Russia’s generally recognized international borders, (so that Ukraine is deterred from destroying it, or doesn’t know it) or from somewhat closer Russian occupied territory?
Initially they were saying it fell within 7 miles of the border, but later they said it was 3 miles away.
The question is was this almost as freakish as getting hit by a meteorite, or was there a somewhat larger range of destruction?
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/16/2022 @ 12:12 pmZelensky addressed the G-20 by video, but referred to it as the G-19.
There’s been an awaful lot of destruction and murder done by Russia, even if it is of limited scale compared to total destruction. Iran is trying to teach Russia to manufacture its own droness – this will take a few months.
I don’t know what is the sense of these protests in Iran. Everyone knows, or should know, the regime is unpopular and what is the sense of going up against better armed forces who don’t have a conscience? That is not the way to recover liberty.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/21/2022 @ 11:56 am