Missiles land in Poland, killing two - reports

More now on the details of that phone call between Ukrainian President Zelensky and Polish President Duda.

Zelensky tweets: "Expressed condolences over the death of Polish citizens from Russian missile terror.

"We exchanged available information and are clarifying all the facts."

He adds that Ukraine, Poland and "all of Europe and the world must be fully protected from terrorist Russia".

EPACopyright: EPA

We've seen a flurry of diplomacy in recent hours as world leaders react to a blast in south-eastern Poland. While much is still unclear - including what exactly caused it - this is where things stand.

Two dead after Polish blast: Missiles reportedly struck the village of Przewodow, about four miles (6.4km) north of Ukraine, earlier on Tuesday. Two Polish citizens were killed in the explosion, firefighters said. The US and other Western allies are investigating but have not confirmed reports that they were stray Russian missiles.

Russia denies involvement: "No strikes on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border were made by Russian means of destruction," its defence ministry said in a statement, adding that the reports were "a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation".

Why it matters: Poland is a member of Nato, a defensive military alliance that has been supporting Ukraine and includes countries such as the UK, Germany and the US. Members agree to help one another if they come under armed attack so, if the missiles are confirmed to be Russian, it could (in theory) risk widening the conflict. But military analysts suggest escalation is unlikely.

We've had a string of tweets from governments around the world, and now British foreign secretary James Cleverly says the UK is "urgently looking into reports of missiles landing in Poland".

The UK is in contact with Poland and other Nato allies, he adds.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

When Russian missiles are being fired at targets so close to Poland’s border, and when Ukraine’s air defences are being activated to intercept them, it was perhaps only a matter of time before something like this happened.

The fact that a missile landed on Poland’s side of the border is of course a worrying development, not just for Poland but for all the states on Russia and Ukraine’s western borders.

Moldova has already complained about the effect of Russian missiles fired close to its borders.

But what matters here is what the intended target was, whoever fired the missile. And so far there is no indication that Russia was intentionally targeting anywhere beyond Ukraine’s borders.

The Kremlin knows that such a move would potentially trigger Article 5 of Nato’s constitution, theoretically bringing the entire alliance to Poland’s defence.

That is not a place Nato wants to be in, especially just a day after Russia and America’s spy chiefs have just been meeting to discuss how to avoid unnecessary escalation in this war.

Much of Ukraine’s vital supplies of defensive weaponry passes through Poland. Were that to be deliberately targeted it would be a different matter.

But that does not appear to be the case here.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

European Council President Charles Michel says that he will propose a "co-ordination meeting" on Wednesday with EU leaders who are currently attending the G20 summit in Bali.

He tweets that he has spoken to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and "assured him of full EU unity and solidarity in support of Poland".

The day's just beginning in Bali, and we're expecting to hear from leaders there in the next few hours.

After his earlier conversation with President Biden, Polish President Duda is now speaking to Ukrainian President Zelensky.

We'll bring you the detail of that call when we have it.

The Americans have responded cautiously to reports of Russian missiles landing in Polish territory.

The White House, Pentagon and state department all say they cannot confirm what happened and are working with the Polish government to gather more information.

They’ve also repeated America’s commitment to defend every inch of Nato territory if it comes under attack, something President Joe Biden has called a “sacred obligation".

But neither the US nor its Nato allies want to be drawn into a direct confrontation with Russia.

The state department said that intent would be a factor in determining next steps.

Kurt Volker, a former US special envoy for Ukraine, also told the BBC it was very important to establish whether any missile strike on Polish territory had been intentional or accidental.

Nato should demand a clear explanation from Russia, he said, and, if a missile had gone astray, take steps to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

There was potential for mistakes on Tuesday, with Ukrainians trying to shoot down a massive barrage of Russian missiles targeting their electricity grids.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has shared her thoughts on the incident.

"Alarmed by reports of an explosion in Poland, following a massive Russian missile strike on Ukrainian cities," she writes in a tweet.

"I extend my condolences and my strongest message of support and solidarity with Poland and our Ukrainian friends."

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the reports coming out of Poland and is speaking to Polish President Andrzej Duda, officials say.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to his Polish counterpart Jacek Siewiera earlier.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg tweets that he spoke to Polish President Andrzej Duda about the explosion.

"I offered my condolences for the loss of life. Nato is monitoring the situation and Allies are closely consulting. Important that all facts are established," he says.

TwitterCopyright: Twitter

In the last few hours images have been circulating on social media, reportedly showing missile fragments from the scene of the attack in Poland.

The BBC has been unable to verify these pictures, but we've spoken to three defence experts about what they show.

Mark Cancian, from think tank CSIS, believes it may be from an S-300 system. This type of missile is typically used for surface-to-air attacks, and has been used by both Russia and Ukraine throughout the war.

TwitterCopyright: Twitter

"Who fired the missile is unclear," says J Andrés Gannon, a security expert at the US Council on Foreign Relations, who agrees that it may be from an S-300 system.

"We know Russia has been using the S-300 for ground attacks even though it’s an air defence system, but Ukraine also uses them for air defence against cruise missiles."

Dr Justin Bronk, a senior fellow at think tank Rusi, agrees that it may be from an S-300 system, but there isn't enough evidence to identify it yet.

Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller has confirmed that there was an explosion that killed two Polish citizens.

Poland is raising the readiness of its military units, he says, and "verifying if we need to activate Nato Article Four".

That article says: "The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened."

BBCCopyright: BBC

As Poland's National Security Council holds its emergency meeting the government is getting more expressions of support from Nato allies.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweets: "We are monitoring the situation closely and are in contact with our Polish friends and Nato allies."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tweets a similar message, saying "it is important now to establish what exactly has happened".

French President Emmanuel Macron also says he is in contact with Poland and envisages talks at the G20 tomorrow on the incident.

The EU summit chairman, European Council President Charles Michel, tweets: "Shocked by the news of a missile or other ammunition having killed people on Polish territory. My condolences to the families. We stand with Poland. I am in contact with Polish authorities, members of the European Council and other allies."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of deliberately attacking Poland, a Nato state.

"This is a Russian missile attack on collective security," he said. "This is a very significant escalation. We must act."

"Terror is not limited to our national borders," he said, adding that it was "only a matter of time before Russian terror goes further".

Zelensky, whose country is not a member of Nato but has close ties to the alliance, also said the missile barrage against his own country's power grid was a "slap in the face of G20".

"This act of genocide of Ukrainians in response to my peace plan is a cynical slap in the face of G20 and the world," he wrote on Telegram.

Russian state media are already hinting that it was in fact Ukrainian, and not Russian, missiles that hit Polish territory. These allegations are unsubstantiated.

State news agency Ria Novosti quoted a Russian "military expert" who claimed that Russian cruise missiles “would not have been able to reach Polish territory, but Ukrainian S-300 [surface-to-air] missile systems, functioning abnormally, could”.

Several pro-Kremlin Telegram channels published similar claims.

Poland's eastern neighbours in Nato have voiced solidarity with the Polish government over what was reported to be a stray Russian missile strike on a Polish village.

Details of the incident have not been confirmed by the Polish government.

Expressions of support and solidarity were tweeted by the governments of the three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - as well as by those of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Poland's neighbours to the south.

Asked about tonight’s developments in Poland, a Nato official told the BBC: "We are looking into these reports and closely co-ordinating with our ally Poland.”

The Czech parliament has passed a motion describing the current Russian administration as "terrorist".

The motion singled out widespread attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets and key energy infrastructure.

During the vote, 129 of 156 MPs present in the 200-seat chamber approved the motion, which means several dozen opposition MPs are likely to have voted with the government.

The motion was opposed by all 14 MPs in the far-right SPD party.

The Czech centre-right government is one of Ukraine's most stalwart supporters, and was among the first to send heavy weapons - including tanks - to the Ukrainian armed forces.

Russia has denied statements from Polish media outlets and officials that Russian missiles fell on the Polish village of Przewodó near the Ukrainian border.

The Russian ministry of defence posted on its Telegram, calling the reports "a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation".

"No strikes were made against targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border by Russian means of destruction," the statement said.It said missile fragments from the scene, reportedly filmed by Polish media, did not relate to Russian weapons.