Poland convenes emergency meeting after deadly blast near Ukraine border - NBC News

The Polish authorities convened an exigency information and defence gathering Tuesday and agreed to summation its subject readiness, authorities spokesperson Piotr Müller said, aft an explosion killed 2 radical adjacent the borderline with Ukraine. 

It was not wide what caused the detonation adjacent the southeastern municipality of Hrubieszów, Müller said aft the exigency gathering was convened.

"A infinitesimal agone it was decided to summation the readiness of immoderate subject units successful Poland and different uniformed services," helium told reporters.

Unconfirmed quality reports that the blasts were caused by Russian rockets hitting a municipality a fewer miles from Ukraine — whether intentional oregon by mistake — raised fears of an escalation successful President Vladimir Putin’s war. 

“We’ve seen these reports retired of Poland and are moving with the Polish authorities to stitchery much information,” the spokesperson for the National Security Council said successful a statement. “We cannot corroborate the reports oregon immoderate of the details astatine this time. We volition find what happened and what the due adjacent steps would be.” 

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden discussed the unfolding crisis with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda and expressed his condolences.

"President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad committedness to NATO," the authoritative White House readout said.

Afterward, Duda spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who voiced enactment for 1 of his country's staunchest allies.

"All of Europe and the satellite indispensable beryllium afloat protected from violent Russia," the Ukrainian president Tweeted.

Russia pushed backmost connected the allegations soon aft the reports emerged. 

“The statements of the Polish media and officials astir the alleged autumn of ‘Russian’ missiles successful the country of the colony of Przewodow, is simply a deliberate provocation successful bid to escalate the situation,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said successful a connection connected Telegram, referring to the colony wide reported to person been hit. 

Emergency unit adjacent the country of the detonation successful Przewodow, Poland, connected Tuesday.TVN via AP

The progressively urgent concern comes as Russia launched an aggravated question of airstrikes connected cities crossed Ukraine connected Tuesday, forcing wide blackouts and hitting residential buildings successful the capital, Kyiv.

The barrage besides targeted cardinal cities from Lviv successful the westbound to Kharkiv successful the northeast, pounding vigor infrastructure and knocking retired powerfulness to immense areas successful 1 of the largest coordinated attacks of the war.

“It is lone a substance of clip earlier Russian panic goes further. The longer Russia feels impunity, the much threats determination volition beryllium to anyone wrong scope of Russian missiles,” Zelenskyy wrote connected Telegram. “This is simply a Russian rocket onslaught connected corporate security! This is simply a precise important escalation. We indispensable act.”

The imaginable of Russian missiles perchance hitting Poland, a subordinate of NATO, triggered fears that the warfare successful Ukraine could intensify sharply. 

“We tin and should bash everything imaginable to travel to Poland’s defense,” U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told NBC News. “I anticipation the Russians volition promptly instrumentality responsibility, place this arsenic a mistake, if it is successful information a mistake, supply compensation and perpetrate to nary much strikes wrong immoderate buffer of the border.”

Poland, successful theory, is covered by NATO’s Article 5 — a tenet that suggests that each allies, including the U.S., would travel to the assistance of immoderate member that comes nether attack.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's caput general, tweeted that helium "offered my condolences for the nonaccomplishment of life" to Polish leaders and that NATO is "monitoring the concern and Allies are intimately consulting."

Some confederation members expressed enactment of Poland and said they were successful interaction with the country’s leaders.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, whose state borders Poland, tweeted that “every inch of NATO territory indispensable beryllium defended!”

“If Poland confirms that the missiles besides deed its territory, this volition beryllium a further escalation by Russia," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala posted connected Twitter. We basal firmly down our EU and NATO ally.”

Fellow NATO subordinate Estonia, which for decades was portion of the Soviet Union and has successful caller years warned of Russian expansionism, called the quality “most concerning.”

“We are consulting intimately with Poland and different allies. Estonia is acceptable to support each inch of NATO territory,” the country’s overseas curate said via Twitter. “We’re successful afloat solidarity with our adjacent state Poland.”