Missile that killed two probably not fired by Russia, says Biden

A MISSILE that killed two people in Poland was probably not fired from Russia, Joe Biden said today amid initial reports that it may have come from a Ukrainian air defence unit.

- Nicholas Cecil Political Editor

The US president’s comments eased fears that the explosion in Poland yesterday at a grain facility near the Ukrainian border could trigger a dramatic escalation in Vladimir Putin’s war.

The Polish foreign ministry said the rocket fell on Przewodow, a village about four miles from the border with Ukraine.

Within hours of the blast, Mr Biden convened an emergency meeting of several leaders gathered in Bali, Indonesia, at a G20 summit to discuss the incident.

Leaders from Nato members Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Spain and Italy attended, as well as non-member Japan.

Asked if it was too early to say if the missile was fired from Russia, Mr Biden said: “There is preliminary information that contests that. I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate it, but it is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia but we’ll see.”

Three US officials said that preliminary assessments suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile amid a huge wave of attacks.

Ukraine still maintains stocks of former Soviet and Russian-made weaponry, including the S-300 air defence missile system.

At least one independent expert also suggested the missile had come from a Ukrainian air defence unit.