Russian-made missile strike kills two in NATO member Poland

A Russian-made missile crossed into Polish territory and killed two people Tuesday, according to Poland, a blast that threatens to pull the NATO alliance into the Ukraine war.

The strike occurred near the Polish village of Przewodów, some 45 miles north of the Ukrainian city of Lviv and 15 miles from the Ukrainian border, the official with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press.

The Polish government echoed that assessment, saying early Wednesday morning — Warsaw time — that a Russian-made missile had exploded in the eastern part of the country.

In a statement, Warsaw said that Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau had summoned the Russian ambassador and “demanded immediate detailed explanations.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda, however, was more cautious, only saying the missile was “most probably” Russian-made but that was still being verified.

The Pentagon said it could not immediately confirm the report of Russian missiles striking Poland.

“First, let me go ahead and highlight up front that we are aware of the press reports alleging that two Russian missiles have struck a location inside Poland near the Ukraine border,” Pentagon spokesman Gen. Patrick Ryder said at a briefing.

“I can tell you that we don’t have any information at this time to corroborate those reports and are looking into this further, and so when we do have an update to provide, we’ll be sure to do so.”

President Biden spoke with Duda by phone Tuesday evening, according to a tweet from Duda’s office. The White House said that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had also spoken with his Polish counterpart.

“We cannot confirm the reports or any of the details at this time.” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “We will determine what happened and what the appropriate next steps would be.”

Poland is a NATO member state. Should the Polish government decide to invoke Article Five of the alliance agreement — which calls for collective defense of member states — the strike could draw the additional 29 members of the Cold War-era alliance, including the US, further into the conflict.

Piotr Muller, a Polish government spokesperson, said that Warsaw was “verify[ing] whether there are grounds to launch procedures under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.”

Article 4 allows member states to formally bring security concerns before the alliance’s member states for discussion.

Muller also said the Polish armed forces were increasing the readiness of certain military units.

Asked how the US would respond if the strike was confirmed, Ryder declined to answer.

“I don’t want to speculate or get into hypotheticals,” Ryder said.

“When it comes to our security commitments, and Article Five, we’ve been crystal clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory,” he added.

The attack came as Russia fired a salvo of nearly 100 missiles at Ukraine, targeting civilian infrastructure in the capital, Kyiv, but also striking targets in western Ukraine, including in Lviv province.

Additional reporting by Caitlin Doornbos and wires