Explosion kills two in Poland near Ukrainian border

Two people died after an explosion in Poland, in an area close to the border with Ukraine. According to Polish media, two missiles or rockets would have been responsible for what happened.

So far, however, it is unclear where the alleged projectiles came from.

“Firefighters are on the scene, it’s not clear what happened,” said Lukasz Kucy, an officer on duty at a fire station near the village of Przewodow, where the explosion took place.

A government spokesman said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had convened the Committee of the Council of Ministers on National Security and Defense Affairs.

It is worth noting that, since 1999, Poland has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). According to Article 4 of the treaty, “the Parties shall consult each other whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened”.

In a publication on social networks, the official profile of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia expressed concern about the reports and mentioned the country’s ties with NATO.

“The latest news from Poland is very worrying. We are in close consultation with Poland and other allies. Estonia is ready to defend every inch of NATO territory,” reads the Twitter post.

Representatives of Latvia and Lithuania, which together with Estonia make up the Baltic States, also expressed solidarity with the Poles.

The Pentagon confirmed that the United States is aware of the reports and that it “will defend every inch of NATO territory”.

General Patrick Ryder of the US Department of Defense said his country is “very confident” about force protection in Europe.

“When it comes to force protection, we always take the safety and security of our troops very seriously, no matter where they are serving,” said Ryder.

According to information from a European military official and a US official, the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, is due to talk to his Polish counterpart this Tuesday afternoon.

Day of heavy Russian attacks on Ukraine

Also on Tuesday (15), Russia launched several missiles over Ukraine, targeting different cities and districts, such as Kiev, Kharkiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Kryvyi Rih, the Poltava region, Chernihiv, Sumy, Rivne, the Khmelnytskyi and the Vinnytsia region, according to information from CNN 🇧🇷

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke at the G20 summit remotely today, said that around 85 missiles would have been launched.

In addition to residential buildings in the capital Kiev, 15 power facilities were hit. According to Kiev Mayor Vitalii Klitschko, at least half of the city’s customers are without electricity.

*In update

*With information from CNN and Reuters