The Associated Press newswire service has issued a correction to a report citing an unnamed US official who alleges that a Russian missile struck Polish territory on Tuesday.
“The Associated Press falsely reported based on information from a senior US intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity,” the AP wrote in it. fix on wednesday. “Subsequent reports indicated that the missile was of Russian origin and was most likely launched by Ukraine to counter a Russian attack.”
It did not disclose the identity of the unnamed US official or in which branch of the government the individual worked.
But the official initially said a Russian missile was fired into Polish territory, killing two people. Russian social media accounts later posted images of the missile’s wreckage, revealing it to be the type of missile only used by Ukraine.
Hours later, NATO officials and the Polish government confirmed that it was in fact a Ukrainian missile that landed in Poland.The White House and NATO said Russia was ultimately responsible for the incident. Stated.
“However, whatever the final outcome, it is clear that the party ultimately responsible for this tragic incident is Russia. Ukraine has and still has every right to defend itself,” said Adrian Watson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, in a statement.
The Polish government, meanwhile, said the Ukrainian missiles were launched in a defensive manner amid a Russian attack on Ukraine.
“Ukrainian defenses are firing missiles in different directions and unfortunately it is very likely that one of these missiles fell on Polish territory,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said in a statement on Wednesday. “There is nothing, absolutely nothing, to suggest that it was a deliberate attack on Poland.”
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the AP on Wednesday that he believed the missiles were not of Ukrainian origin. The day before, he claimed the incident was a “very significant escalation” to a dispute that began in February 2022.
“Let’s be frank, if God forbid, some remnants [of Ukraine’s air defenses] These people who killed people need to apologize,” he said. “But first we need a probe, access. We want to get the data you have.”
Russia, on the other hand, denied being behind the attack and said the allegations to the contrary were an attempt to escalate the conflict. some of the Allegedwithout evidence, Moscow was pushing a “conspiracy theory” that it was a Ukrainian air defense missile.
The news that NATO has concluded that the missile is Ukrainian has brought some relief to the projectile-hit Polish village. Some people have expressed fears to Reuters of being dragged into the conflict.
“We are right on the border and everyone has it in the back of their minds that an armed conflict with Russia will expose us directly,” said Grzegorz Drewnik, the local mayor. Said news agency. “If this is the fault of the Ukrainians, it shouldn’t have much repercussions, but I’m no expert here.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to AP’s media relations department for comment.
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Jack Phillips is a New York-based breaking news reporter for the Epoch Times.