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President Joe Biden convened an exigency gathering of satellite leaders aft an detonation successful eastbound Poland, precise adjacent the Ukrainian border, which near 2 Polish citizens dormant connected Tuesday. The origin of the detonation was a rocket oregon rocket parts that crossed into Poland, but the root of the projectile remained unclear.
Mr. Biden told reporters successful Bali, Indonesia, wherever helium was attending a G20 summit, that it was "unlikely" the rocket had been fired from Russia, based connected its trajectory. But the president added that the probe was ongoing, and "we'll see."
Police officers basal astatine a blockade aft an detonation successful Przewodow, a colony successful eastbound Poland adjacent the borderline with Ukraine, November 16, 2022.
KACPER PEMPEL/REUTERS
He called Russia's ongoing barrage of rocket attacks connected Ukraine, which surged connected Tuesday, "totally unconscionable," and noted that "scores and scores" of missiles had struck the state adjacent arsenic as leaders gathered for the G20 acme and urged deescalation successful the nearly-nine-month war.
The Polish overseas ministry said earlier that the missile, which landed successful the Polish colony of Przewodów, was Russian-made, but President Andrzej Duda was cautious astir its origin, saying officials did not cognize for definite who fired it oregon wherever it was made. He said it was "most probably" Russian-made, but that was inactive being verified. Both Russia and Ukraine person relied connected stocks of Soviet-era Russian missiles during the war.
"We are acting with calm," Duda said. "This is simply a hard situation."
The gathering convened by Mr. Biden, aboriginal connected Wednesday successful Bali, included German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, EU President Ursula von der Leyen and EC President Charles Michel.
President Joe Biden talks during a gathering of G7 and NATO leaders successful Bali, Indonesia, November 16, 2022.
Doug Mills/AP
After the rocket fell, Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Zbigniew Rau "demanded contiguous and elaborate explanation" from Russia, according to a connection by the Polish overseas ministry.
Poland besides noted that the incidental took spot arsenic "another hours-long, monolithic shelling took spot of the full territory of Ukraine and its captious infrastructure by the equipped forces of the Russian Federation."
However, the connection did not code the circumstances of the strike, including whether it could person been a targeting mistake oregon if the rocket could person been knocked disconnected people by Ukrainian defenses. A NATO connection called it a "tragic incident." Earlier, a elder U.S. quality authoritative had said that Russian missiles had crossed into Poland, but Poland's connection said it was 1 missile.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the authorities was investigating and raising its subject preparedness level.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied work for the incident, insisting that "no strikes were made against targets adjacent the Ukrainian-Polish authorities borderline by Russian means of destruction."
In their statements, Poland and NATO utilized connection that suggested they were not treating the detonation arsenic a Russian attack, astatine slightest for now.
If Russia had deliberately targeted Poland, it would hazard drafting the 30-nation NATO confederation into the conflict.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called an exigency gathering for Wednesday of the alliance's envoys to sermon the event, and Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya told CBS News that helium expected the incidental to beryllium discussed astatine a antecedently scheduled U.N. Security Council gathering connected Ukraine connected Wednesday, too.
President Biden was briefed connected the incidental and spoke by telephone with Poland's Duda from Bali. According to a readout of the call, Mr. Biden offered the U.S.' afloat enactment and assistance with Poland's investigation, and helium reaffirmed the U.S.' committedness to NATO. The 2 leaders agreed to stay successful adjacent interaction arsenic the probe unfolds.
The National Security Council said successful a statement that the U.S. was "working with the Polish authorities to stitchery much information," and would "determine what happened and what the due adjacent steps would be."
Russia pounded Ukraine's vigor facilities connected Tuesday with its biggest barrage of missiles yet, striking targets crossed the state and causing wide blackouts. A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy shook his fist and declared, "We volition past everything."
Zelenskyy said Russia had fired astatine slightest 85 missiles, "most of them astatine our vigor infrastructure," and unopen down powerfulness successful galore cities.
The aerial assault, which resulted successful astatine slightest 1 decease successful a residential gathering successful the capital, Kyiv, followed days of euphoria successful Ukraine sparked by 1 of its biggest subject successes — the retaking past week of the confederate metropolis of Kherson.
The powerfulness grid was already battered by erstwhile attacks that destroyed an estimated 40% of the country's vigor infrastructure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented connected the retreat from Kherson since his troops pulled retired successful the look of a Ukrainian offensive. But the stunning standard of Tuesday's strikes spoke volumes and hinted astatine choler successful the Kremlin.
By striking targets successful the precocious afternoon, not agelong earlier dusk began to fall, the Russian subject forced Ukrainian rescue workers to labour successful the acheronian and gave repair crews scant clip to measure the harm by daylight.
More than a twelve regions — among them Lviv successful the west, Kharkiv successful the northeast and others successful betwixt — reported strikes oregon efforts by their aerial defenses to sprout missiles down. At slightest a twelve regions reported powerfulness outages, affecting cities that unneurotic person millions of people. Almost fractional of the Kyiv portion mislaid power, authorities said. Ukrainian Railways announced nationwide bid delays.
Zelenskyy warned that much strikes were imaginable and urged radical to enactment harmless and question shelter.
Eleanor Watson, Ed O'Keefe, Camilla Schick and Pam Falk contributed to this report.
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