Updated at 12:34 am Eastern Standard Time on 11/16/22
President Biden told reporters in Indonesia on Wednesday that it’s “unlikely” the missile that hit a village in Poland Tuesday near the Ukrainian border was fired by Russia and that “preliminary” information indicates otherwise.
“There is preliminary information that contests that,” Biden said when asked by reporters if the missile was fired by Russia. “I don’t want to say until we completely investigate. It’s unlikely in the minds of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia.”
After Biden’s comments, three US Officials told The Associated Press that “preliminary assessments” suggest the missile that hit Poland was fired by Ukrainian forces and was meant to intercept a Russian missile.
Biden is in Indonesia for the G20 summit and held an emergency meeting of NATO and G7 leaders over the news that a missile fell in Poland, killing two people. He said that the allies agreed to find out exactly what happened and make a decision together from there.
“Then we’re going to collectively determine our next step as we investigate and proceed. There was total unanimity among folks at the table,” Biden said.
Over in Poland, President Andrzej Duda told reporters that there’s no clear evidence of who fired the missile. “We do not for the moment have unequivocal evidence of who fired the missile. An investigation is ongoing,” he said.
Duda said the missile was likely “Russian-made,” but Ukraine’s armed forces use a lot of older Russian-made equipment, including S-300 air defense systems. The munition landed in Poland as Russia launched massive missile strikes on energy infrastructure across Ukraine.
The Polish president also said that he believes it was an “isolated” incident and that he doesn’t expect more missiles to hit Polish territory.
Poland is considering holding consultations with NATO members under Article 4 of the alliance’s treaty. NATO’s Article 4 states: “The parties will consult together whenever any of them have the opinion that the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any party is threatened.”
Since Poland is a NATO member, there has been concern that the country may ask to invoke Article 5, which states that “an armed attack on any party is an attack on them all.” But so far, there is no sign that Poland is looking to escalate the situation, and there’s no evidence that Russia launched the missile.
When news of the missile landing in Poland first broke, a US official told The Associated Press that Russian missiles hit Polish territory. But when asked about the situation, the Pentagon said it could not corroborate the claim, and Russia issued a strong denial.
The lack of evidence has not stopped Ukrainian officials from accusing Russia of hitting Poland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Duda and expressed “condolences over the death of Polish citizens from Russian missile terror.”
Well that takes the temperature down a notch, could even be true. Russia has nothing to gain by attacking Poland.
“…could even be true…”
It is obviously true that the Russians did NOT fire a missile into Poland.
It isn’t obviously true, any number of mess ups could have led to that result. Transposition of coordinates, technical failure of the missile due to various reasons. I do believe that the Russians didn’t target a farmers field in Poland. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a Russian missile.
Please.
Sure – could have been a Russian manufactured missile, just like all the missiles we export to other nations, but once they are under the control of the receiving nation and those nations use those missiles, it’s no longer referred to as an American missile when it kills and maims.
“the missile that hit Poland was fired by Ukrainian forces and was meant to intercept a Russian missile.” So much for missiles defense. If that is so.
I would really like to know what the kill ratio of these defense missiles really is and the truth about the dome in Israel and the little firecrackers the Palestinians glue together in their basements in their garage.
Frankly, it all sounds pretty absurd.
Zelensky should understand that he has no credibility, no matter what he says.
Russians are not stupid, there is no benefit in it for Russia.
I do agree Renate…
Zelensky still won’t let it go!
https://thehill.com/policy/international/3738812-zelensky-insists-missile-that-hit-poland-was-not-ukrainian/
Basically, his allies have said, “Well, yeah, it was a Ukrainian missile, but it was still all Russia’s fault!” But that’s not good enough for the little comedian.
Notice too that the Kiev-based Neo Nazi regime is demanding to be “in” on the “investigation.” Right. As if Poland and NATO are somehow getting it wrong, giving Russia the benefit of the doubt when they don’t deserve it, and covering up for them, cuz that’s what they do! And as if NATO needed the “expertise” of it’s puppet’s military!
He always demands an extra wurst. Who does the clown think he is? He is an extremely overpaid not even funny medium clown, and his green T-shirt makes him look like an A-hole clown.
When Ukraine hit ns2 they blamed it on Russians but this time doing that will lead to direct engagement so…. the truth comes out, but Ukraine still has it’s value, so, they didn’t mean it
Ukraine hit Nordstream pipelines? Have you looked at the map? Nordstream pipes are in Baltic sea. It was Anglo-American terrorists who blew up the pipelines, Crimean bridge and attacked Sevastopol. Ukraine doesn’t have the capability or authority to do any of it.
They had sf training in the Baltic their sf have been given extensive training by us and uk and as long as they r given the underwater drones and explosives they can do it. Why do people think us would do something like hitting a vitally important German asset directly!!!. Make no mistake us certainly gave the go ahead but it is Ukraine that did it
Gee. Let’s ponder about that one…
A) Motive.
B) Direct Threats.
C) Means and Capability.
Case closed.
🤣 yeah us is going to hit the strongest economy in Europe while the chances for doing it with proxies whose interest aligns with us😏
Better than to lose a profitable vassal state to Russia. Are you familiar with Wolfowitz Doctrine? They’ve been trying to destroy EU for the last 9 years. Don’t you remember Nuand and her “Fuсk the EU” statement?
Last comment on this thread because we r going in circles. operations can go wrong and get exposed so as long as us can do it through proxy and avoid exposure it would be ridiculous to to do it directly. Eu is very important as a captive market and all the continued war in Ukraine is being done to keep it so. Any direct involvement and exposure threatens everything.
No, they r not trying to destroy the eu, the eu project was financed by the Cia in it’s inception and the eu bureaucracy r in the thrall of us establishment.
Okay, I can agree that we will not reach any kind of consensus on this issue.
Yes, EU is a profitable assembly of vassal states and that is why US needs to destroy it. To subjugate it and reduce it below US. Destroying industry in EU makes capital and human resources flow to US and England. Of course the empire would prefer to keep EU as cash cow but Eurasian Alliance make it very difficult. Destroying it gives Anglo-American empire a chance to reset own industry. It’s the same WWII scenario.
The missile were as far as we know a S300 those have a range of max 160 km there being in excess of 200+ km to the nearest Russian controlled area it is indeed (very) ‘unlikely’ to have been fired by the Russians.
Missiles do from time to time malfunction – as several cases of Russian missiles falling on Russian territory far short of their targets in Ukraine will attest – Ukrainian missiles being mostly older it should be no surprise that they also fail from time to time.
So what can we learn from this:
1) Ukraine were fast to express their (hope) that this was a Russian missile
– possibly even trying to make it sound like it was deliberate
(not a great surprise given their massive incentive to do so – but also a bit naïve given their complete lack of control of the situation)
2) There were a great many people jumped the bandwagon (pre)judging the Russians, not assisted by some Russians seemingly gloating / taking ‘responsibility’
3) NATO did not (or at least not yet) try to spin this into a deliberate Russian attack – nor did NATO actually point their finger at the Russians or even imply that it was a deliberate attack.
So NATO is not eager to get drawn into direct conflict with the Russians – though some NATO countries seem very willing to escalate this conflict (notably not the US/UK but the eastern NATO nations).
Only Poland, the only continental NATO member, is eager to escalate the conflict. All others are coerced to be willing. Sweden, Finland are a big puzzle.
No they are not – Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania were very much on the same page as Poland, Denmark, Sweden , Finland and Norway also are not coerced at least not by the US or any other NATO partner. As for the rest I cannot speak, but none of the polls I have read suggests this is the case for most of them.
What is your evidence for the idea that they are coerced? Mind you these countries would all be happier if Putin just accepted the terms Zelenskyy proposed.
There are plenty of ways to coerce a nation, economical sanctions are a big hammer. Cutting funds like they do against Hungary. See Germany and the pipelines.
To be friends with the USA is deadly, so said Kissinger, and he knows.
Hungary was and is not coerced to do anything in NATO by NATO members, Hungary is losing the advantages of EU membership because Hungary rejects the rules that applies to members – this is not coercion but just normal rules of the game.
Germany is not being coerced by anything to do with the pipelines, they had already taken the political decision to end imports of Russian gas and no gas was flowing thanks to Putin’s decisions – so no Germany is not feeling coerced not even a little.
You seem to be conflating EU actions with NATO actions and an irrelevant action on the NS1/2 with the Germans being coerced to do anything that they were not already preparing to do. EU has been in trade conflicts with the US several times and the US cannot force EU to any NATO actions – last but not least EU nations are donating to Ukraine mostly not through the NATO collaboration and in very different scales as shown many of them donate far in excess of what the US does as a fraction of their GDP (the only relevant measure in a NATO context).
The evidence is that the dollar reigns supreme in every one of those countries. Follow the money .
What do you mean? The Euro reigns supreme in most of those countries not in Denmark, Poland and Sweden. But just what do you mean by that the dollar reigns supreme in ‘those’ countries Denmark, Norway and Sweden are some of the richest and happiest countries in the the world so…?
I mean the dollar, with few exceptions, is the international currency, and the majority of transactions between nations is done in the almighty US $$.
Yes but that holds true for all nations so is not an indicator of any particular one being coerced by the US.
Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic have recognized Russia as a terrorist state and as you can see plenty of the states I mentioned have given more than the US in military aid:
https://www.statista.com/chart/27278/military-aid-to-ukraine-by-country/
Making it pretty clear that they were not reluctantly coerced into the actions taken.
They wanted EU membership more than anything else but not to get involved in a hot war with Russia. They are still poor countries, and recognizing Russia as a terrorist state is meaningless, based on politics and nothing else, it is meaningless but used to justify sanctions, the American way. The USA is by any standard a terrorist state and so is Israel, I name the two to make a point.
MHO, I do believe when this is all over there is no NATO and no EU left. Wars do tend to end differently than expected.
They are EU members.
It shows that they are not reluctantly being coerced into taking action, that would entail taking no more action than the minimum required – if in doubt look at Danish NATO policy 1970-1987
We could probably agree on this, that however is irrelevant to the point that the European states I mentioned are not being coerced into the actions they are taking, which their lead on this issue shows – that is simply not the actions of a coerced nation.
I rather doubt this, but to be sure that is what it would take for Putin to prevail.
This is very good news. WAY too many Americans were calling for Shock and Awe.
One crisis seems to be averted. We get to live a bit longer 🙂
The MSM coverage was basically calling for total war, and too many comments made by Americans on various forums wanted to go straight to nukes.
YAY the two parties agree on something
The MSM is always warmongerish and that includes the fake so-called Conservatives of Fox News. How they trot out their warmongers like Gen Keane
Having read a bit more, I can see why Biden made this speech. The MSM anti-Russia narrative was TOO successful. From what I read, Americans have become UNITED in total hatred for everything Russian, and a lot of disappointment that the missiles seemed to be a Ukrainian mistake.
It seems that, for now, the US needs a bit more preparation before starting our Shock and Awe. If we were ready now, then the original story would have been 100% defended, as the Iraqi WMDs were.
When the media and governmental powers in the US and NATO villify Russia day and night, is it any wonder? A brainwashed citizenry is no different than the “all in” citizenry of Germany during the Nazi era of Germany.
LOL suicidal fools… US wouldn’t last a week in total war with RF. And
I’m talking conventional war. Never mind nukes and never mind RF and PRC together.
Russians annihilated the entire imperial military force in Ukraine in a few months. They have been training and equipping it for 9 years! And Ukrainian boys had much more courage than rainbow-flavored grunts.
Seems to me the disconnect from reality in American society simply insane…
“more courage than rainbow-flavored grunts”
I guess this was directed at gays in the military. I’m always amused that people think gays can’t be bad ass killing machines just like heterosexuals.
Yeah… dully noted. I guess it was a crass way of pointing out the lack of morale. Americans are spent. War-ed out. Afghani broke the back of US military.
Nothing more fun than watching the MSM having to walk back a ‘sensational’ story. Now the question is, will NATO react to the Ukraine ‘attacking’ Poland the same way it was preparing to react to Russia, had it been their missiles? No Article 5? No? No double standard here, folks. Move along.
There appears to be much confusion about the words “from” and “by”.
Oh isn’t that just nice, band together to wage war on others, but don’t any nation ever ever hit one of us.
Ukraine being the liars, lied again.
They want NATO troops involved and will do anything to get it, no matter how stupid it is.
Maybe it was by error, but they shell their own NPP. Anything is possible with lunatics standing with their backs against a the wall.
Have to laugh at some of the comments from yesterday that were mocking the “Putin lovers” and asking them why they hadn’t yet blamed Ukraine.
Well, technically you can’t blame Ukraine. Ukraine does not exist as a sovereign state since 2014. It’s occupied territory.
They had permission from Washington to be that stupid again.
The USA is the BesatzungsMACHT, actually it covers all of Europe not just Ukraine.
“Biden Says It’s ‘Unlikely’ Missile That Hit Poland Was Fired From Russia US officials told AP it was a Ukrainian missile”
Just like the Malaysian Airliner, just like the fake Bucha massacre killing of Ukrainian civilians, and all of the other anti-Russia false flag stories coming out of criminal Ukraine trying to provoke World War Three.
Zelensky and his criminal government hired the “White Helmets” from Syria who are experts in false flag operations.
Chicken Little (Zelensky) has screamed the sky is falling so many times any statement from Ukraine is most likely a lie!
But he does nothing without permission or orders from Washington.
Were it CIA or MI6 work, the Washington/MSM ‘analysis’ would have been rapid and apodeictical -like 9/11- and the bombers already on the way. So we were lucky … this time.
“Russia and Ukraine have tortured prisoners of war: UN” or Ukraine and Russia. Britian is engaged in Nord Stream State-sponsered terrorism. North Americans quit guving them a free pass. Meanwhile two poles get to die for policy.
Let us hope things find a calmer ground.
Hope springs eternally.
Any mea culpas coming from lying Zelensky and his lying ministers?
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-says-russian-missiles-hit-poland-significant-escalation-2022-11-15/
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraines-foreign-ministry-rejects-russias-214911491.html
Crickets.
I guess it is just OK to try to manufacture a bullcrap Gulf of Tonkin, Remember the Maine, Saddam’s WMD, endangered medical students in Grenada, etc, etc, incident. Or, if you prefer, another Gleiwitz incident! If it had worked, all the better. Here comes Article Five, no fly zones, more and better military toys for the Ukrainian military, and hey, if we’re lucky, maybe even WWIII! When it doesn’t work? Nothing. No repercussions. Not even a mention of the lies.
I had to do a custom date limited Google search to even find lying Zelensky’s and his minion’s immediate statements, as they had already been memory-holed. As is always the case with lies produced by the Neo Nazi entity. Notice too that unnamed US sources were spreading the lie early on, as well.
From the Yahoo story:
Previously, the AP reported that American intelligence confirmed Russian missiles crossed Polish airspace on 15 November, killing two people.
That has now been almost completely memory-holed. If you click on the link, you will see that AP has re written the story, leaving out that “American intelligence confirmed Russian missiles….” etc. bit. Instead, the almost exact opposite is being reported, with no reference to the previous lie:
Three U.S. officials said preliminary assessments suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian one amid the crushing salvo against Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-kherson-9202c032cf3a5c22761ee71b52ff9d52
I don’t know what to make of the whole thing. Seems to me that a false flag operation is at least as likely as the “Ukranian missile ‘accident’ (but it is still all Russia’s fault)” story that is now the official one. Certainly, the immediate lies coming from the Kiev Neo Nazi regime point in the direction of perfidity, rather than “accident.” As does the quick memory holing of the lies. Notice too that this “misguided” Neo Nazi missile just happened to hit and kill two people, even though it fell in a relatively unpopulated, rural area. Sure, Jan!
Great post, PL. IMHO, this incident screams false flag.
Thank you.
And, yeah.
Here is another quote from the lying Kiev Neo Nazi regime foreign minister:
“Ukraine reaffirms its full solidarity with Poland and stands ready to provide any necessary support. Collective response to Russian actions must be tough and principled. Among immediate actions: a NATO summit with Ukraine’s participation to craft further joint actions which will force Russia to change its course on escalation, providing Ukraine with modern aircraft such as F-15 and F-16, as well as air defense systems, so that we can intercept any Russian missiles. Today, protecting Ukraine’s skies means protecting NATO.”
https://www.kyivpost.com/russias-war/ukraine-urging-nato-to-provide-defensive-fighter-jets.html
https://mobile.twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1592615591172780032
That this Pinocchio was all ready to not only blame the Russians, ready to not only self-invite his own pathetic, beggar, backward, bankrupt, sorry-ass excuse for a country to a NATO summit, but also ready to demand advanced fighter jets and other advanced weaponry, and even to ludicrously claim that his fascist regime is somehow”protecting” NATO, is pretty suspicious. As usual, the hubris and gall of these jumped-up, tinpot, little clowns is just amazing. But I also think his statement tends to confirm the notion of a false flag event, rather than an “accident.”
Could Poland claim Art. 5 of the NATO agreement? Poland has been de facto fighting Russia and NATO is for defense only, so they say.
I do know better, just saying.
US told the Poles and the Uki to pipe down. We are not going to get into the fray directly. You have enough cold warriors who might benefit from some heat emitting missiles now and then.
NATO is divided .Some wanted to test the Dniper river’s water . But US said – No , dont you remember Turkey’s attemtpt to draw us?
US told them to find an Iraq so that it can do Shock and Awe .
“Western Allies Look to Ukraine as a Testing Ground for Weapons
Though the battle for Ukraine remains largely a grinding artillery war, new advances in technology and training there are being closely monitored for the ways they are starting to shape combat.”
http://nytimes.com/2022/11/15/world/europe/ukraine-weapons.html
“NATO and Poland Say Deadly Blast Was Likely Unintentional
Poland’s president and NATO’s secretary general said a Ukrainian defensive missile most likely caused Tuesday’s explosion, but they emphasized that Kyiv was not to blame.”
Just look at this NYT headline – it was a Ukrainian missile killing Polish people, but it’s not Ukraine’s fault. Not to mention the huge pile of fake news last night stating it was Russia’s missile and Russia’s fault. Just how propagandized is mainstream media?…