Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has convened an emergency meeting of the country’s National Security Council after reports that a Russian missile that hit Polish territory killed two civilians.
The emergency meeting was announced by cabinet spokesman Piotr Muller on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon. Muller did not reveal what the committee was due to discuss and did not offer further comment to Reuters news agency.
The committee talks, which will include senior members of Poland’s government and its intelligence services, come following unverified reports that stray Russian missiles intended for Ukraine have hit a Polish village, killing two civilians.
According to Radio ZET, a Polish commercial radio station, “two stray rockets fell in the village of Przewodów in the Lublin province near the border with Ukraine.”
Russian authorities have denied that the missiles that struck Poland came from Russia.
The station further reported that two people had died at the scene. The Polish military, the police, and the prosecutor’s office have been called to the scene.
Military planes are also understood to have been scrambled.
Polish authorities are yet to confirm media reports that Russian missiles were responsible for the explosion but they were substantiated by a senior U.S. intelligence official to the Associated Press news agency on Tuesday evening.
“The causes of this incident are not known at the moment,” said Marcin Lebiedowicz, a spokesman for the Poviat Fire Brigade in Hrubieszów
“We received a report of an explosion in the drying yard. In fact, upon arrival, we confirm that something like this happened. Two people died on the spot. At the moment, we are securing the scene and lighting the area of the action,” he added.
Kurier Lubelski, a regional Polish news outlet from the affected area has attempted numerous times on Tuesday to verify the details with state officials to no avail.
At 7 p.m. local time, the outlet was told by the local mayor’s office: “I can’t say anything about it. However, there is definitely no need to arouse anxiety. Let’s wait for the exact findings of the services.”
At 7.30 .p.m. local time, the news outlet attempted to speak again with Marcin Lebiedowicz for further information on the incident.
“I’m not allowed to give any information at the moment. I suggest contacting other services,” he replied.
The local police department’s spokesperson has not been available for comment to local media, but Voivode of Lublin Lech Sprawka confirmed he was on his way to the accident site.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated that “If Poland confirms that the missiles also hit its territory, this will be a further escalation by Russia. We stand firmly behind our EU and NATO ally.”
Latvia’s Deputy Prime Minister Artis Pabriks stated that the “criminal Russian regime” had hit Poland with missiles, although it is unclear what evidence he has to back his statement at this time.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said “every inch of NATO territory must be defended.”
Hungarian government spokesperson, Zolan Kovacs, also confirmed via Twitter that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had convened an emergency meeting of Hungary’s Defense Council for Tuesday evening “in response to missiles hitting the territory of Poland.”
A U.K. Foreign Office spokesman told Sky News: “We are investigating these reports and liaising closely with allies.”
Russian military launched a strong aerial assault on Ukraine on Tuesday, targeting key cities including Lviv, just 80 kilometers from the Polish border.
If reports are accurate, it will be the first time Russian projectiles have reached Poland.
