Joe Biden told NATO that Ukraine air defence missile landed in Poland: Report

United States President Joe Biden told other NATO members present at the G20 Summit in Indonesia that the missile that killed two people in Poland was an air defence missile from Ukraine, according to a NATO source. Reuters reported that Biden was informed by his sources about the missile and that is why he publicly said that it is unlikely that the missile was launched by Russia.

"There is preliminary information that contests that. I don't want to say that until we completely investigate it, but it is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see," Biden said when asked about the attack in Poland, according to Associated Press.

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The missile that landed near the Poland-Ukraine border sparked tensions about a potential escalation in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict as any perceived attack on a NATO member will result in a response from the alliance. Following the missile attack, NATO ambassadors held an emergency meeting to discuss the road ahead but decided to not go ahead with an armed response.

On Wednesday, a missile landed in Poland as Russia targeted Ukraine's Volyn region (25-30 km away from the Polish border). The Ukrainian authorities said that most missiles were shot down by their defence systems and the S-300 air defence missile in Poland can be part of their weapons arsenal.

Russia completely denied any involvement in the incident and said that the allegations were "baseless statements". Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was conducting routine military attacks, but the S-300 air defence system was responsible for the incident in Poland.

(With inputs from agencies)