NUSA DUA (Indonesia) and KYIV (Ukraine) — President Biden stated that it was unlikely that a missile that caused an explosive explosion in eastern Poland was fired by Russia. However, he claimed that the information was preliminary and that Poland’s allies would support an investigation.
As Russia launched a series of missile strikes Tuesday on cities in Ukraine, the explosion caused damage to residential buildings and cut off electricity supply in urban areas. Two people were killed by an explosion at a grain processing plant in Poland, just a few kilometers from the border with western Ukraine.
Late night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland stated that a “Russian-made missile” had been dropped on Przewodow. It summoned Russia’s ambassador for an “immediate explanation.”
According to a government spokesperson, earlier, the Polish government called an emergency meeting to address a “crisis scenario” and intended to invoke Article 4 NATO’s treaty. This allows members to “consult together” if the “territorial integrity or political independence or security of any one of them is threatened.
Biden calls for an emergency meeting in Bali
As world leaders gathered in Bali to discuss the G-20 summit, the strikes occurred.
President Biden assembled a small group of heads from the G-7 countries as well as European Union and European Commission leaders, to meet in an emergency about the blast in Poland.
Biden was then asked if the missile came from Russia.
Biden stated that there is preliminary evidence that challenges that. “I don’t want to tell that until we fully investigate it.” It is highly unlikely that the missile was fired from Russia,” Biden stated, citing the “trajectory.”
He said, “But we’ll be seeing,”
Biden had previously called Polish President Andrzej Da and NATO Secretary General Jens Stöltenberg. The White House stated that Biden reaffirmed America’s “ironclad commitment” to NATO in his phone call with Duda.
Biden claimed that he briefed the leaders about the calls and that they agreed to help Poland with its investigation. He said, “I’m going make sure we figure it out exactly what happened.”
He condemned the attacks against Ukraine and called them “totally inconcionable” and stated that the United States would support Ukraine no matter what.
According to Ukraine, Russia launched about 100 missiles
According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia fired approximately 100 missiles at Ukraine in a matter of hours Tuesday afternoon and evening.
“Does anyone really believe that the Kremlin truly wants peace?” Andriy Yermak, a top advisor to President Volodymyr Zeleskyy, stated on Twitter. It wants obedience. Terrorists always lose at the end of it all.”
This attack came just days after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Russia should be held responsible for the war it is waging against Ukraine and should be forced to pay reparations. Russia suffered a significant military setback when it was forced to withdraw from Kherson, a strategically important city in the south.
Ukraine claimed it had shot down 70 of the 100 incoming rockets. However, others hit their targets in the capital Kyiv and the northeastern city Kharkiv. Lviv was also targeted. Odesa was also hit.
According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, in Kyiv, two residential houses were attacked and one person was injured.
The mayor’s office posted video showing an apartment building in Kyiv being consumed in thick smoke and heavy flames.
Half of Kyiv loses power
The mayor stated that half of the capital was without power.
According to officials, Kharkiv, a northeastern Ukrainian city, was without power.
“The United States strongly condemns Russia’s latest missile attacks on Ukraine,” stated Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national safety adviser. He was in Bali at the G-20.
“The United States, our allies, and partners will continue providing Ukraine with everything it needs to defend itself,” Sullivan said. Sullivan stated that the United States will continue to stand by Ukraine for as long it takes.
Zelenskyy, who spoke via video to the G-20 Tuesday morning, stated that Russia has taken all of his territory.
“In order for us to liberate our entire land, it will be necessary to fight for a while longer,” Zelenskyy stated.
Some international leaders are calling for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy pointed out that they reached interim agreements following Russia’s invasion in 2014.
He said that Russia used the relative calm to regroup militarily and that Ukraine would not fall for it again.
“We will not let Russia wait and build its forces,” stated Zelenskyy.
The president called the G20 repeatedly the “G19” in his speech, stating that Russia should be excluded.
Russia’s air power is a new weapon
Russia is increasingly dependent on airstrikes, despite its ground forces being unable to make significant progress in recent months and being severely pushed back in some instances.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russia launched a heavy-bombing campaign against Ukraine’s power systems in October. It caused damage to around 40% of Ukraine’s electricity system.
Ukrainian workers are working hard to restore the power grid. However, power outages were still affecting many areas of Ukraine, including the capital.
As temperatures drop rapidly and winter approaches, the Russian airstrikes are timely.
The limited air defenses of Ukraine have been more effective than expected when protecting military and government facilities.
The Russian attack on Ukraine’s civilian and energy facilities has resulted in a broad range of targets. Ukraine was unable to defend them all.
