Rishi Sunak has accused Russia’s President Vladimir Putin of showing “utter contempt” for the international order as Western leaders vowed establish how a missile came to hit a Polish village close to the Ukrainian border.
Little information is so far known about the incident, but it has already sparked concern in Ukraine and among the war-torn nation’s allies in Europe and beyond.
Speaking at the end of the G20 summit in Bali, the Prime Minister said there were already teams on the ground trying to work out what happened, amid reports it may have been a Ukrainian missile fired in defence against a Russia attack.
However, Mr Sunak stressed that the incident took place against a barrage of more than 80 Russian missiles launched against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The missile strike killed two people on Tuesday
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“That was happening at a time when the G20 was gathered trying to find resolution to some of the world’s challenges and the same time Putin was raining down indiscriminately that volume of missile attack,” he said.
“I think it shows utter contempt for the international rules-based system.”
Ukraine has blamed Russia for the missile strike with a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak saying: "In my opinion, it is necessary to adhere to only one logic.
"The war was started and is being waged by Russia. Russia massively attacks Ukraine with cruise missiles.
"Russia has turned the eastern part of the European continent into an unpredictable battlefield."
"Intent, means of execution, risks, escalation - all this is only Russia. And there can be no other explanation for any incidents with missiles."
But Poland's president said early on Wednesday the country had no concrete evidence showing who fired the missile, which struck a grain facility in the village of Przewodow.
Przewodow is less than 10 km from the power line linking Zamosc in Poland with Dobrotvir in Ukraine.
Mr Sunak said he and other Western allies were determined to establish what happened with the missile that hit Poland.
Speaking at the G20 summit, Mr Sunak said: “What we agreed this morning is that it is important to establish the facts and this is exactly what is happening as we speak. We will get to the bottom of what happened.
“That was happening at a time when the G20 was gathered trying to find resolution to some of the world’s challenges.”
While President Joe Biden pledged US support for Poland but stated it was “unlikely” Russia fired a missile that killed two people in the eastern European country.
The president’s assessment was later backed up preliminary assessments from US intelligence suggesting the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian one.
Mr Sunak joined an emergency morning meeting on the incident at the G20 summit in Bali.
He was pictured sitting next to the US President, who called the roundtable of likeminded G7 and Nato leaders.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japan’s premier Fumio Kishida, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel from the European Commission and European Council, respectively, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Dutch PM Mark Rutte were also gathered in the room.
Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak
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In an official read-out of the meeting, issued by the European Union, the leaders said they agreed to offer their “full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation”, while reaffirming their “steadfast support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of ongoing Russian aggression”.
Mr Sunak said he had spoken to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace about the incident.
Mr Sunak also spoke himself to Mr Duda and “reiterated the UK’s solidarity” with the country and “expressed condolences for the victims and their families”.
He tweeted: “We are urgently looking into reports of a missile strike in Poland and will support our allies as they establish what has happened.
“We are also coordinating with our international partners, including NATO.”
