For the first time since the beginning of the Ukrainian war in February of this year, an explosion occurred on Tuesday in the territory of a member country of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) – Poland – which, according to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was caused by a Russian missile. strikes. Two people died in the incident, which happened in Przewodow, about 6 km from the Ukrainian border, media reported, citing firefighters.
After the explosion, Poland put its army on alert and even summoned the Russian envoy to give an “immediate detailed explanation”. The country has also launched an investigation into the matter. Warsaw’s decision came after an emergency meeting of the National Security Council. Polish President Andrzej Duda held talks with his US counterpart Joe Biden, and the White House said Washington and Warsaw would work closely together during the investigation to find “next steps”.
Russia has denied that its missiles hit Polish territory
Even so, Duda was cautious about claims of Russian-made missiles. He said there was no concrete evidence at this time as to who launched the missile. “At this point we don’t have clear evidence as to who launched the missile.” An investigation is underway. It was most likely Russian-made,” quoted him as saying.
Russia has denied that its missiles hit Polish territory. In a statement on Telegram, the Russian Defense Minister said: “Statements by Polish media and officials about Russian missiles hitting Polish territory are a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation. NATO chief Jens Stolenberg is expected to chair Wednesday’s meeting in Brussels, Belgium, at Poland’s request under Article 4 of the organization.
Meanwhile, Biden held an emergency meeting in Bali, Indonesia, where the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) and NATO were present at the G20 summit for consultations after the Polish explosion. The meeting was held at a large round table in the ballroom of his hotel and was attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron .
What is Article 4?
According to Article 4, NATO members can raise any issue if a country’s “territorial integrity, political independence or security” is threatened, and the group’s parties will “consult jointly” on it.
Since its creation in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times. Most of them were used by Turkey, among other things, in connection with terrorist attacks and the conflict in neighboring Iraq. The immediate previous one was convened on February 24 this year by the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and Poland to hold consultations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sky News reported.
What happens next?
Article 4 is followed by Article 5, which is defined as the principle of NATO’s combined defence. This can only take effect if it is determined that Russia was indeed responsible for the explosion in Poland, Reuters reported.
What is Article 5?
Article 5 of NATO states that “an armed attack against one or more of them (member states) in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all”. It also states that, in the event of such an attack, a NATO party or parties will immediately take “such action, individually and in concert with other parties, as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic region”. There has long been a fear of the Ukrainian war spilling over into NATO countries. But since Ukraine is not a member of the group when Russia invaded, Article 5 was not invoked.
How does invoking Article 5 work?
NATO’s Article 5 does not apply automatically and requires all member states to agree to an attack or consider it an attack worthy of the situation. The Reuters report added that there was no time limit on how long such consultations could last.
How many times has Article 5 been used before?
Article 5 has only been invoked once in the past, on behalf of the US. This was in response to the September 11 (9/11) attacks, in which Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four US commercial airliners and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon – a fourth aimed at the federal building crashed. into the field after the passengers on board learned of the terrorists’ plan and revolted. Almost 3,000 people died in the attacks.
Global leaders gathered at the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday following deadly explosions in Poland that Ukraine and Polish authorities said were caused by Russian-made missiles. The meeting was called by US President Joe Biden, the White House said, after two people were killed in an explosion in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland near the border with Ukraine.
Biden said it was “unlikely” that the missile that killed two in NATO ally Poland was fired from Russia, but pledged support for Poland’s investigation into what it called a “Russian-made” missile.”There is preliminary information that calls that into question,” Biden told reporters when asked about the missile’s origin from Russia. “According to the trajectory, it’s unlikely to be launched from Russia, but we’ll see.” The meeting was attended by leaders from the United States, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. All but Japan are members of NATO, a defense alliance that also includes Poland.
A decision that Moscow was responsible for the blast could trigger NATO’s principle of collective defense known as Article 5, in which an attack on one member of the Western alliance is considered an attack on all, triggering considerations of a possible military response. The leaders were briefly spotted together at a conference table at the start of the meeting. Biden said “no” when reporters asked if he could share what he knew about the explosion. He did not comment on the question of how Russia could be involved in this. Officials said it was unclear how long the meeting would last. Poland summoned Russia’s ambassador to Warsaw for an explanation after Moscow denied it was responsible.
