Key Takeaways:
- Russian airstrikes targeting Ukraine have allegedly landed in Poland, a NATO member state
- According to local reports, the attacks killed two people
- The Polish PM convened an emergency meeting of the national security council while Russia denied the attack
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The ongoing war in Ukraine could spill out of control. According to reports, Russia has now attacked North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Two people died after Russian missiles landed in Poland, according to local reports.
This is the first time Putin’s actions have gone beyond the borders of Ukraine.
Will NATO enter the Russia-Ukraine war?
According to local reports, the Russian missiles landed in the village of Przewodów, located in eastern Poland near Ukraine’s western border. It is believed they were a part of the 90-missile Russian cannonade targetting Ukraine.
Poland is a NATO member since 1999. Since the start of the war, the military alliance has supported Ukraine with weapons. However, it has refused to enter into a direct clash with the Kremlin. This has been one of the main reasons why the West has refused to block Ukraine’s air despite a repeated request from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The development has now ignited fears that NATO, led by the United States, will enter the war.
Article 5 of the founding treaty of NATO mandates member states to defend the territory of a fellow member under attack. Should the situation escalate, Poland can invoke the treaty, dragging the 30-member block into a direct war with Russia.
The US has already warned the Kremlin on more than one occasion that it will not hesitate to step in to defend its allies.
“We have a sacred obligation under Article 5 to defend each and every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power,”
President Joe Biden warned in March.
Jens Stoltenberg, the General Secretary of NATO, informed that he has spoken to the Polish President regarding the attack.
In response, Russia will try to garner support from the much-weaker and crumbling Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
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Poland calls emergency meeting, Russia denies attack
Within minutes of the attack, Mateusz Morawiecki, the Prime Minister of Poland, called emergency meetings of its national security council and cabinet.
“Due to the crisis situation, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki… called a meeting of the National Security Bureau,”
Piotr Muller, the government spokesperson, told reporters.
Russia, however, denied the reports that it had targeted any regions near the Polish-Ukrainian border. The state-run TASS news agency called the reports “a deliberate provocation.”
“The statements of the Polish media and officials about the alleged fall of ‘Russian’ missiles in the area of Przewodów is a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation.No strikes on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border were made by Russian rockets,”
the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, observes hope that the matter will be sorted through diplomatic means and will not result in a further escalation.
