Warsaw ended up recognizing it itself. The explosion which hit, Tuesday, November 15, an agricultural building in the Polish village of Przewodow, located 6 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, resulting in the death of two people, was not caused by a Russian projectile but by a missile “used by Ukrainian missile defense”said Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday. “Nothing, absolutely nothing, indicates that this was an intentional attack on Poland”added the manager, referring to “probably an unfortunate accident”.
The evening of the explosion, and during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the tone was however much more alarmist. Very quickly, the Polish government had mentioned a direct Russian attack on its soil and decided to put its army on heightened alert. During the night, Mr. Duda had even said he wanted to demand the application of Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which stipulates that consultations can be organized when a member considers that “the territorial integrity, political independence or security of one of the parties” is threatened. Only the intervention of the American president, Joe Biden, who cleared Moscow from customs since the G20 summit in Indonesia, made it possible to reduce the tension.
If solidarity with Warsaw was in order, Wednesday, in the official declarations of the Western capitals, the relief was perceptible within the chancelleries, where some could fear a scenario of uncontrolled escalation. At the end of a meeting of NATO ambassadors, the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, hailed the ” calm, measured and well-coordinated manner” with which member countries reacted to the event. ” I think you have to understand that dealing with this kind of incident is partly about being firm and reacting quickly. But it’s also about being calm and avoiding unnecessary escalation.”he added.
A “hysterical runaway” seloMoscow
In Moscow, the turn taken by events was moreover welcomed as a small victory, all the more savory as these are rare. “We have witnessed yet another hysterical runaway of frenzied Russophobia, based on no real basis”denounced the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitri Peskov, who nevertheless insisted on “note the restrained and professional reaction of the American side”, a rare satisfaction from Moscow. As early as Tuesday, the Ministry of Defense had mentioned a “deliberate provocation” from the West, the army indicating that it had not targeted targets within 35 kilometers of the Polish-Ukrainian border.
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