Blanka Aleksowska

– You cannot jump to conclusions, sow panic, make decisions and take action on the spot. Let us remember that we are members of the North Atlantic Alliance. If we come out on top with a strong position, which then differs significantly from the position of the Alliance, we will show a lack of cohesion and instability, says Bartłomiej Wypartowicz, columnist for the Defense24.pl portal.

US President Joe Biden announced that the missile that hit Przewodów (Lubelskie Voivodeship – editor’s note) yesterday was fired from Ukraine. How did he end up in Poland?

This is media information that will probably be confirmed later. At first, after the incident which happened before 4 p.m., we had information about an explosion in which two people died. More and more sources say – including the American media and the American president – that it is a Russian-made S-300 air defense missile, but launched from Ukraine. There were also versions that parts of a Russian missile shot down by a Ukrainian missile fell on Przewody. However, all of this must be 100% confirmed. Communications provided by the Polish authorities have so far not clarified this issue.

Why is it taking so long to establish and make public this true version of events? The communication of our authorities with other governments and institutions fails here?

It’s completely normal and I think it’s also true. One cannot jump to conclusions, sow panic, make decisions and take action on the spot. Let us remember that we are members of the North Atlantic Alliance. We have to take into account that if we went forward with a tough stance, which then differs greatly from the Alliance stance, that would indeed be bad. It would seem that NATO is internally inconsistent. Therefore, this consultation and in-depth examination of the matter, which has been taking place since yesterday, is the right decision. At this stage, there is no indication that this was an intentional and deliberate attack on the territory of the Republic of Poland. It is becoming more and more likely. that missile – no matter where it was launched from – got lost or shot down and parts fell on our side.

How often do these random “backfire” incidents typically occur in such armed conflicts? It is a village very close to the border.

This happens quite often, especially in border towns. Note that the fact that such an incident occurred for the first time in Poland does not mean that during this war such an incident did not occur at all. There have already been such accidental situations in Moldova, when anti-aircraft missiles crashed there. Yesterday, however, the power line that linked Ukraine to Moldova was damaged, causing the country to lose power. So there have been cases like this before in this war, but similar incidents have happened in other wars as well. This is not an isolated case. In my opinion, this does not look like an intentional attack, and if it was intentional, it was probably to check the consistency of the response of the North Atlantic Alliance.

Once we have clarified beyond doubt who it was and how it happened, how will it be resolved politically? Are we going to ignore it if it’s a coincidence?

Of course, political measures will be taken and NATO will react, because the territory of the Alliance has been violated. Even if it was unintentional, a clear message still needs to be sent to the Russians. Let us remember that even if Przewodowo was hit by a Ukrainian missile or its fragments, it is still Russia’s fault and a consequence of its aggression against Ukraine. If Russia hadn’t attacked Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, if it hadn’t carried out massive bombardments, this event would not have happened. Russia is therefore responsible for this. It should also be added that various actions are possible – from typical diplomatic and political actions to strengthening NATO’s eastern flank with air defense systems or increasing military aid to Ukraine. There will definitely be a reaction. I think the fact that it’s taking this long just shows that we’re thinking about the best and most reasonable answer.

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