Moscow’s defence minister on Tuesday dismissed reports that Russian missiles had landed in Poland, which borders Ukraine, as a “provocation” intended to escalate tensions.
“Polish mass media and officials commit deliberate provocation to escalate situation with their statement on alleged impact of ‘Russian’ rockets at Przewodow (near the Ukraine border),” Russia’s defence ministry said in statements posted online.
“Russian firepower has launched no strikes at the area between (the) Ukrainian-Polish border,” it added.
The NATO military alliance said earlier it was “looking into” the unconfirmed reports that Russian missiles may have struck Poland on Tuesday, and was working closely with allienace member Warsaw.
The Russian ministry said that “the wreckage published by Polish mass media from the scene in Przewodow have no relation to Russian firepower”.
Russia on Tuesday launched dozens of missiles on cities across Ukraine, according to Kyiv.
In the past debris from such strikes has fallen in Moldova, which also borders Ukraine.
A strike on Polish territory would mark a significant escalation in the Ukraine conflict.
Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty requires member states to come to each other’s aid in case of an attack on one.
The US Department of Defense said it was unable to corroborate the media reports that two Russian missiles had landed inside Poland, but added it was investigating the claims.
The Polish government meanwhile called an emergency meeting of its cabinet and national security council, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki citing a “crisis situation”.
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