Incident with missile will not harm relations between Ukraine and NATO, - Ambassador of Estonia to Alliance Luik
Even if the missile that struck Poland on Tuesday afternoon was fired by Ukraine, in any case the real culprit of the incident is Russia, which is waging a war of aggression, and therefore this incident will not harm relations between Ukraine and NATO.
This was stated by the Ambassador of Estonia to the Alliance Yuriy Luik, Censor.NET reports with reference to European Pravda.
"We still don't know exactly where it was launched from. But even if it is an accidental missile related to Ukraine's struggle against the Russian occupiers and against the flurry of missiles launched yesterday by the Russian side, it is clear that it was launched due to an accident or a technical error , and this will in no way harm relations between NATO countries and Ukraine," Luik said.
"As it was said, the provision of assistance to Ukraine will be continued in full, and, of course, the more we send to Ukraine high-quality Western air defense equipment, the more effective Ukraine will be in its actions to destroy Russian missiles," the ambassador added after the meeting of the North Atlantic Council, on to whom the incident was discussed.
According to Luik, the investigation is still ongoing, and it is too early to make final decisions. "It is clear that this is an accidental incident and not a deliberate attack on NATO territory," he said.
Also, according to Luik, it is known for sure that this is a Russian-made missile, but from where exactly it was launched remains to be found out.
"The final certainty will come when the results of the investigation are received," the ambassador said. scale or even more. So in that sense, the conclusions that were reached at this meeting were very correct and relevant."
"It is also clear that whoever owned this missile, the culprit is Russia with its full-scale aggression against Ukraine," added Luik. regardless of who it belongs to."
According to the ambassador, all NATO countries are convinced that this was an accidental incident and there is no risk that it will be followed by a larger-scale attack, therefore it was not considered necessary to invoke the 4th article of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for consultations with other members of the Alliance.
"Of course, that doesn't mean that there won't be further consultations throughout today and tomorrow. I also believe that a conclusion will be reached fairly quickly as to where and by whom this missile was fired from. I don't think this investigation will take long", - added Luyk.
When asked whether NATO plans to protect a certain part of the airspace of Western Ukraine so that no Russian or anyone else's missile could land on the territory of NATO countries, Luyk replied that there are currently no such plans.
"Currently, there are no plans that are directly related to any NATO steps on the territory of Ukraine," Luik said.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said there were "no signs" that the missile that fell in Poland on Tuesday was a "deliberate strike" on the country.
As reported, on November 15, during a massive missile attack on Ukraine, 2 missiles fell in Poland, killing 2 people. It became known that US intelligence confirmed the strike by Russian missiles on Poland. In turn, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation called the information about the fall of Russian missiles in Poland "a deliberate provocation for the purpose of escalation." The United States, Estonia, and Lithuania have declared their readiness to defend every inch of NATO territory. Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine also joined their statements.
On the same day, at an extraordinary meeting on the evening of November 15, the Polish government decided to increase the army's combat readiness. NATO Secretary General Jens noted that NATO is monitoring the situation in Poland. In addition, on November 16, Stoltenberg will gather the ambassadors of the alliance member countries for an emergency meeting to discuss the events in Poland.
Later it became known that the President of Poland Andrzej Duda discussed the explosions in Poland with Stoltenberg and Biden and is convening the National Security Council.
It was also reported that due to the fall of missiles on the territory of Poland, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, will initiate a coordination meeting with the leaders of the member states of the European Union, who are currently participating in the G20 summit in Bali.
On the night of November 16, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland emphasized that a Russian-made missile fell on the territory of Poland.
