France urged “utmost caution” Wednesday on the origin of a deadly missile strike on NATO member Poland, saying many countries in the region have similar weapons. Follow FRANCE 24’s live blog for the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
6:42am: Blinken calls Polish, Ukrainian FMs over missile attack
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called his Polish and Ukrainian counterparts on Wednesday after a deadly missile strike in Poland, pledging coordination as “we determine appropriate next steps”.
“We pledged to remain closely coordinated in the days ahead as the investigation proceeds and we determine appropriate next steps,” Blinken said in a tweet as US President Joe Biden met allies on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali to discuss the blast.
6:42am: Biden, Sunak call Russian bombing of Ukrainian civilians ‘barbaric’
US President Joe Biden and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s targeting of Ukrainian civilians “barbaric” on Wednesday at a G20 summit in Bali.
“At a moment when world leaders here in Bali are seeking to make progress on world peace, Putin is striking civilian targets – children, women. I mean, it’s almost – my words, not yours – barbaric,” Biden said at a meeting with Sunak.
The British prime minister, meeting Biden for the first time since taking office, said: “I agree with your words – barbaric.”
They were speaking as tensions spiralled over the deaths of two people when a missile hit inside Poland, across the Ukrainian border.
6:40am: France urges ‘utmost caution’ on origin of Poland strike
France urged “utmost caution” Wednesday on the origin of a deadly missile strike on NATO member Poland, saying many countries in the region have similar weapons.
“It’s logical that we approach the question with utmost caution,” a French presidential official said.
“Identifying the type of missile won’t necessarily identify who is behind it,” the official said, warning of the “significant risks of escalation.”
“This is a subject where we don’t want to make a mistake,” the official added.
6:28am: Indonesia leader tells G20 meeting countries must ‘stop the war’
Indonesia leader and chair of the G20 major economies, Joko Widodo, on Wednesday said countries must “stop the war”, in opening remarks at a meeting during the G20 summit.
His comments come amid discussion on economic impacts of the war in Ukraine and concerns about blasts near Poland’s border with Ukraine.
4:34am: Poland likely to invoke NATO’s Article 4, will raise missile blast with UN
Poland is likely to request consultations under NATO’s Article 4 after a missile, reportedly Russian-made, struck Polish territory near the border with Ukraine, and raise the issue at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, officials said.
Two people were killed in an explosion in a village 6 kilometres (3.5 miles) from the border, with Polish President Andrzej Duda saying that Poland had no conclusive evidence showing who fired the missile.
3:52am: UN chief warns against escalating conflict in Ukraine
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres tweeted early Wednesday that he was ‘very concerned by the reports of a missile exploding on Polish territory.’
The UN chief added that ‘it is absolutely essential to avoid escalating the war in Ukraine.’
3:30am: Poland blast may not be from missile fired from Russia, Biden says
The United States and its NATO allies are investigating the blast that killed two in Poland, but early information suggests it may not have been caused by a missile fired from Russia, US President Joe Biden said.
Biden spoke after global leaders gathered for the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, held an emergency meeting on Wednesday after deadly explosions in Poland that Ukraine and Polish authorities said were caused by Russian-made missiles.
Asked whether it was too early to say that the missile was fired from Russia, Biden said: “There is preliminary information that contests that. I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate it but it is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia but we’ll see.”
The US and NATO countries would fully investigate before acting, he added.
1:15am: G7 leaders arranging emergency summit after Poland missile strike, reports Kyodo news agency
Group of Seven leaders are arranging an emergency summit meeting on Wednesday in response to a missile strike in Poland, the Kyodo news agency said citing a Japanese government source.
A Japan and United Kingdom meeting scheduled for the same day has been put on hold, according to the report.
12:57am: No concrete evidence on who fired missile, Poland’s Duda says
Poland has no concrete evidence showing who fired the missile that caused an explosion in a village near the Ukrainian border, the president said on Wednesday
“We do not have any conclusive evidence at the moment as to who launched this missile… it was most likely a Russian-made missile, but this is all still under investigation at the moment,” Andrzej Duda told reporters.
12:38am: Poland increasing monitoring of its airspace, PM says
Poland has decided to increase surveillance of its airspace, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday, as he confirmed that Poland was studying the possibility of requesting consultations under Article 4 of the NATO military alliance treaty.
12:04am: Biden offers Poland full US support in blast investigation
President Joe Biden offered his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda full US support with the country’s probe into a blast that killed two people near the border with Ukraine, the White House said.
“President Biden offered full US support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation,” the White House said after the pair spoke.
NATO allies are investigating unconfirmed reports the explosion was caused by stray Russian missiles.
12:02am: UK ‘urgently’ looking into reports of missiles landing in Poland
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a tweet on Tuesday said his country was urgently looking into reports of a missile strike in Poland and will support allies as they establish what happened.
“We are also coordinating with our international partners, including NATO,” Sunak said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
Originally published on France24