US defense secretary blames Putin's war for Poland explosion - Danbury News Times

“The tragic and troubling detonation successful Poland this week reminded the full satellite of the recklessness of Putin’s warfare of choice,” Austin said.

On Tuesday, 2 workers were killed erstwhile a projectile deed the grain-drying installation adjacent to Poland's borderline with Ukraine. While the root of the rocket is nether investigation, NATO officials person said they fishy it was fired from a Ukrainian rocket battery.

Officials from Poland, NATO and the United States person blamed Russia for the deaths successful immoderate case, saying a Ukrainian rocket would not person misfired had the state not been forced to support itself against dense Russian attacks that day.

Russian officials person formed the struggle arsenic a conflict against NATO — though Ukraine is not a NATO subordinate adjacent if it has been receiving assistance from NATO subordinate states.

Austin said NATO is simply a antiaircraft confederation and poses nary menace to Russia.

“Make nary mistake: we volition not beryllium dragged into Putin’s warfare of choice. But we volition basal by Ukraine arsenic it fights to support itself. And we volition support each inch of NATO territory,” Austin said.

A Polish probe to find the root of the rocket and the circumstances of the detonation was launched with enactment from the U.S. and Ukrainian investigators joined the probe connected Friday.

Andriy Yermak, caput of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said successful an interrogation broadcast unrecorded astatine the forum that “It’s not close to accidental it’s a Ukrainian rocket, oregon a Russian rocket, earlier the probe is over.”

Austin called Putin’s penetration the worst situation successful information since the extremity of the Second World War and said the result "will assistance find the people of planetary information successful this young century,” Austin said.

“Stability and prosperity connected some sides of the Atlantic are astatine stake. The U.S. trading narration with the European Union is the largest successful the world. So erstwhile an aggressor manufactures a immense information situation successful Europe, it hits location for mundane Americans and Canadians.”

Austin said the U.S. has deployed oregon extended much than 20,000 further U.S. forces to Europe since precocious February, bringing the full to much than 100,000 American work members crossed Europe.

“Russia isn’t conscionable waging a warfare of aggression. It’s besides deliberately attacking civilian targets and civilian infrastructure — targets with nary subject intent whatsoever. Now, these aren’t conscionable lapses. These aren’t exceptions to the rule. These are atrocities,” Austin said.

He added that the warfare "shows the full satellite the dangers of disorder. That’s the information situation that we face. It’s urgent, and it’s historic.

But we’re going to conscionable it ... the basal principles of ideology are nether siege astir the world,” helium said.

He dismissed Putin's claims that “modern Ukraine was wholly created by Russia,” calling it a imaginativeness of “a satellite successful which autocrats determine which countries are existent and which countries tin beryllium snuffed out.”

He drew examination to China's expanding subject activities successful the Taiwan Strait.

“Beijing, similar Moscow, seeks a satellite wherever mightiness makes right, wherever disputes are resolved by force, and wherever autocrats tin stamp retired the occurrence of freedom,” helium said.

In its 14th year, astir 300 radical stitchery each twelvemonth astatine Halifax International Security Forum held astatine Halifax’s Westin hotel, wherever astir 13 Ukrainian refugees present work.