Fence on the path of the third world war: Poland fenced off from Russia with barbed wire after the incident with missiles

Poland installed barbed wire along its border with Russia just hours after rockets hit its territory, killing two people, reports Dailymail.

Photo: IStock

Soldiers were seen today laying barbed wire near the village of Shiliny near Russia's Kaliningrad.

The 2,4m high and 3m wide protective structures are being erected amid rising tensions between the two countries to prevent illegal border crossings with Poland.

There are fears that Russia may deliberately flood Poland with a flood of migrants in order to wreak havoc in the EU.

NATO member states are also discussing beefing up their air defenses in the east, with Slovakia demanding additional systems from alliance partners to "further ensure the safety of Slovak citizens," the Slovak defense minister said.

On the subject: The UN adopted a resolution that the Russian Federation should compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine

Lithuania also called for stronger defenses along the Polish-Ukrainian border and the rest of NATO's eastern flank, with President Gitanas Nauseda saying "NATO skies must be 100 percent secure."

Fears that the war would escalate into untold horrors rose sharply yesterday after a rocket was fired at Poland on November 15, killing two farmers.

Initially, Warsaw claimed it was coming from Russia and NATO would in all likelihood invoke Article 5, which considers an attack on one country to be an attack on all countries, spurring a collective defense effort.

Leaders have now said the strike likely came from Ukraine's air defense system, easing fears that the strike could draw NATO into direct conflict with Russia but giving Vladimir Putin a pretext to lash out at the West.

Now the Kremlin has summoned the Polish ambassador in Moscow to the Foreign Ministry to explain its "absolutely hysterical" reaction.

On November 16, Polish President Andrzej Duda, speaking after a meeting of his security council, said he had seen "no evidence" that the missile had been fired by Russia, and in fact it was "very likely" that the Soviet-era S-300 missile had been fired. from Ukraine. He added that there is no indication that Poland was deliberately attacked.

“The Ukrainian defense launched their missiles in different directions, and it is very likely that one of these missiles unfortunately fell on Polish territory,” Duda said, adding that Russia was ultimately responsible for the strike, since Putin started the war in Ukraine.

Jens Stoltenberg, the head of NATO, supported this analysis, saying that the strike was likely a Ukrainian missile, "there is no indication that it was deliberate, and there is no indication that Russia is preparing an attack on NATO." However, he added: “This is not the fault of Ukraine. Russia bears ultimate responsibility by continuing its illegal war against Ukraine.”

Ludivine Dedonder, Belgian defense minister, said preliminary investigations by his security forces point to the same.

Hours after the incident, Volodymyr Zelenskiy blamed it on “Russian missile terror,” and Kyiv has yet to admit that its own missile was involved. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said that Kyiv wants access to the site and still sees a Russian "trail" behind the attack.

The news comes after a nervous night when it looked as though NATO and Russia might head into a direct confrontation that could spark World War III, and highlights the risk that one mistake or miscalculation in Ukraine could trigger such a conflict.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's prime minister, said it might no longer be necessary to apply NATO's Article 4, which calls for discussion of the threat between allies, but that the allies would strengthen air defenses in the region.

However, this will be a small consolation for the families of the two murdered men, who were identified by the Polish media as a tractor driver named Bogdan S and a warehouse foreman named Bohuslaw W, who are in their 60s.

Locals said the men were working unloading grain at a drying facility when the missile hit its target, killing them instantly.

The explosion occurred about 900 meters from the residential complex, where about 500 people live. If the missile had hit him, there would have been many more victims.

Frightened residents reported hearing "strange whistles" as the rocket flew overhead, followed by "a massive explosion, about a thousand decibels."

Neighbors say that Boguslav, who worked at the elevator for 40 years, lived with his wife and elderly mother-in-law, whom they both looked after. He reportedly has two adult children who live in Krakow.

Bogdan S., who worked as a driver at the plant, lived in the neighboring village of Setniki. A neighbor told local media, “We all know each other, it’s a small town. We have never had such a tragedy. They were good people."

Another resident told the news portal interia.pl: “Bohuslav went to work as usual, and around 16:00 pm his wife realized that something bad had happened. Some of the neighbors, out of compassion and curiosity, wanted to visit his wife, but she was in a frenzy, did not want to speak, looked into the distance and cried. She was in terrible shock."

Zelensky, speaking to the G20 for the second time on November 16, said the strike on Poland was "a true statement made by Russia for the G20 summit."

“There is a terrorist state among you, and we are defending ourselves against it. This is the reality,” he added, although Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had already left the conference late on November 15.

Sunak, speaking after the G20 issued a joint statement condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine, said allies were still working to "find the facts" of what happened in Poland.

He added: “This constant threat to our security and global suffocation is caused by the actions of one person who does not want to be at this summit - Vladimir Putin. There is not a single person in the world who has not felt the impact of Putin’s war.”

“We agreed this morning that it is important to establish the facts. We will figure out what happened. The attack came as the G20 met to try to find solutions to some of the world's problems. I think it shows complete contempt for the rules-based international system,” he said.

The dramatic development came on another day of bloodshed and destruction in Ukraine, when more than 100 Russian rockets fell on major population centers, killing three people and cutting off the power to millions.

On November 15, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a telephone conversation with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, expressing condolences.

“I expressed condolences in connection with the death of Polish citizens as a result of Russian missile terror. We have exchanged available information and find out all the facts. Ukraine, Poland, all of Europe and the world must be fully protected from terrorist Russia,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg tweeted: “I spoke with President Duda about the explosion in Poland. I expressed my condolences on the loss of life. NATO is monitoring the situation and allies are consulting. It is important that all the facts be established."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, said: “Alarmed by reports of an explosion in Poland following a massive Russian missile attack on Ukrainian cities. I express my condolences and express my strongest support and solidarity with Poland and our Ukrainian friends.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a tweet that the UK will support the allies when they find out what happened.

“We are also coordinating with our international partners, including NATO,” Sunak said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said: "The consequences of this conflict go beyond Europe."

Latvian Deputy Prime Minister Artis Pabriks tweeted: “My condolences to our Polish brothers in arms. The criminal Russian regime fired rockets that not only targeted the civilian population of Ukraine, but also fell on NATO territory.”

The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added: "Estonia is ready to defend every inch of NATO territory."

And British military commentator Rear Admiral Chris Parry said that "the time has come to place advanced air defense systems on NATO borders and intercept everything that can cross these borders."

Russia on November 15 unleashed one of its largest rocket attacks on Ukraine to date, leaving the country's energy grid in a critical state due to persistent blackouts.

More than 100 rockets were fired at cities across the country, hitting civilian homes and power plants, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
As a result of the shelling, half of Kyiv was left without electricity, where at least one civilian was killed, and the whole of Zhytomyr.

Explosions were also reported in Lvov, the closest major urban area to the border with Poland, and caused a partial blackout.

Kharkiv, Vinnitsa, Rovno, Odessa, Zaporozhye, Chernihiv, Khmelnytsky and Ivano-Frankivsk also came under attack.

The bombing came after the German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that documents leaked from the German armed forces said that one of the country's top generals, Eberhard Zorn, ordered the country's army to prepare for war in the face of "existential" threats.

According to Der Spiegel, the 68-page policy paper was completed in September. In it, Zorn called for a complete restructuring of the German armed forces and told commanders to prepare for war.

"Attacks on Germany could potentially occur without warning and with massive damage," he wrote.

The attacks on Ukraine come just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking via video link from Kyiv, told world leaders at the G20 summit in Bali that he was ready to end the war, provided Russia withdraws its troops from areas that she is currently occupying.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking later at a summit in Indonesia, accused the West of waging a "hybrid war" in Ukraine, and Kyiv of "prolonging" the conflict, without mentioning Russia's participation in hostilities.

“There is an attack on the capital. According to preliminary information, two residential buildings were damaged in the Pechersky district, said the mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko. — Several missiles were shot down over Kiev by air defense systems. Medics and rescuers are working at the scene of the strikes.”

A few minutes later he added: “Another hit in the Pechersk area. Multi-storey building.

Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said the attack was a response to the president's appeal to the G20, increasing pressure on Russia to stop the attacks.

“Someone seriously thinks that the Kremlin really wants peace? He wants obedience. But in the end, terrorists always lose,” Yermak said.

Russian forces have been hitting energy infrastructure across Ukraine in recent weeks, firing rockets and drones.

About a third of Ukraine's generating capacity was disabled, resulting in rolling blackouts across the country as soon as winter set in.

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The last time Kyiv was attacked by Russian troops was almost a month ago, on October 17th.

On Nov. 15, Russia faced mounting diplomatic pressure to end the war in Ukraine as both G20 allies and critics deplored the painful global fallout from the nearly nine-month-long conflict.

A draft communiqué obtained by AFP shows that the world's top 20 economies have banded together to denounce the effects of the war, but remain divided over the distribution of blame.

The summit showed that even Russia's allies have little patience with a conflict that has driven food and energy prices around the world and given rise to the specter of nuclear war.

At the risk of diplomatic isolation, Russia has been forced to accept that the war in Ukraine, which Moscow refuses to call a war, has “negatively affected the global economy.”

She also agreed that "the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons" is "unacceptable" after her President Vladimir Putin has been making such threats for months.

The Russian leader skipped the summit, staying home to reckon with a string of ignominious battlefield defeats and a relentless campaign that threatens the future of his regime.

Sprinkling salt on Russian wounds, Zelenskiy, who had just been in liberated Kherson, delivered a passionate video message to G20 leaders.

He said they could "save thousands of lives" by insisting on the withdrawal of the Russian occupiers from Ukrainian territory.

The United States and its allies used the summit to broaden their coalition against the Russian invasion and refute Moscow's claims of conflict between East and West.

Yesterday, Western officials gave a sobering assessment of the conflict, demonstrating that they believe the conflict could "stretch" into 2023. They believe that the war has reached a stalemate.

What are Articles 4 and 5 of NATO and what does their implementation mean?

What is Article 4 NATO?

If any NATO member - in this case Poland - feels that its territory, political independence or security is under threat, it can request a NATO meeting under Article 4.

This is a call for consultations among allies in the face of a security threat, allowing more time to determine what steps should be taken.

At this stage of the process, allies can exchange views and information and discuss issues before reaching an agreement and taking action.

Hours after the explosion in Poland in the evening, two European diplomats said that Warsaw had requested an Article 4 NATO meeting for consultations.

This has not officially happened yet, but Poland is likely to convene a NATO meeting to discuss the threat from the missile attack.

Article 4 of the NATO treaty is seen as the starting point for major NATO operations as it can lead to members triggering Article 5.

When did Article 4 apply?

Article 4 has been formally invoked seven times since the creation of the alliance in 1949.

For example, on February 24, 2022, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia requested Article 4 consultations following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Poland invoked Article 4 in 2014 after rising tensions in Ukraine as a result of Russia's aggressive actions.

Turkey has also invoked Article 4 on numerous occasions, such as in 2015 following terrorist attacks.

And in 2003, Turkey invoked the charter and asked for consultations with NATO members on defense assistance in the event of a threat to its population or territory as a result of an armed conflict in neighboring Iraq.

What is Section 5?

Article 5 is the cornerstone of NATO's founding treaty, which was created in 1949 with the US military as its powerful backbone, primarily to counter the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc satellites during the Cold War. The incident in Poland was recognized as an accident, and Article 5 is applied only in case of a direct threat to a NATO country.

The Charter provides that NATO members agree that an armed attack against one or more of them "should be considered an attack against them all".

If such an attack does occur, each NATO member will assist the attacked country in whatever action it "deems necessary".

This may include the use of armed force to restore and maintain security in the North Atlantic.

What does the application of Article 5 mean?

If Poland activates Article 4 of the NATO treaty and convenes a meeting to discuss the security threat, the alliance may decide to apply Article 5.

What this might mean depends on what action the alliance decides to take, as the bylaws provide that members may take any action "deems necessary".

This may include the use of military force, but this is for the alliance to decide.

When did Article 5 apply?

Article 5 has only been invoked once, and that was on behalf of the United States, in response to the 11/XNUMX attacks on New York and Washington.

Is the application of Article 5 automatic?

But the application of Article 5 does not happen automatically, because NATO members must agree on what actions they want to take.

There is no time limit for Article 4 consultations, and experts say the wording is flexible enough to allow each member to decide how far to go in response to armed aggression against another.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On the territory of Poland two rockets exploded there are victims: it is assumed that they were released from Russia, Warsaw urgently convenes the Security Council.
• Polish President Andrzej Duda said that so far there are no signs of a deliberate Russian attack on Poland using missiles. The NATO Secretary General says the rocket explosion that occurred after the mass attack on Ukraine in a Polish border village Pshevoduv and killed two people, probably was the result of the work of the Ukrainian air defense.

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