‘Ukraine offers support to Poland on 'transparent' missile probe’

NEW YORK: Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya has said that Kyiv supports a "full and transparent investigation" into the missile that fell in Poland.

In his address at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Sergiy Kyslytsya stated that Ukraine expresses solidarity with Polish people after missiles landed in Przewodow village of Poland, where two people were killed.

"Ukraine expresses its solidarity with brotherly Polish people following yesterday's tragedy in the village of Przewodow, where two people were killed by missiles," Sergiy Kyslytsya said.

"We support a full and transparent investigation to establish all the facts of this tragic incident and we are ready to cooperate with the Polish side to contribute to this investigation," he added.

In his statement at the UNSC meeting on "Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine," Sergiy Kyslytsya said that Russia's aggression against Ukraine with regular missile attacks as one of its key element remains the "only root cause of violence and human suffering in Ukraine."

Kyslytsya accused Russia of carrying out "nasty attacks" against civilians which he stressed is the "only kind of revenge" it can take for its regular military and diplomatic defeats.

In his address, Kyslytsya said that investigators have documented over 400 Russian war crimes and bodies of civilians and military personnel have been found.

The leaders of Poland and NATO claimed that the missile that killed two people in Poland on Tuesday was likely fired by Ukrainian forces. The leaders said that the incident seemed to be an "accident," CNN reported. The blast took place outside Przewodow which is near Ukraine's border.

The missile landed in Poland at roughly the same time as Russia launched its missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that there was a "high chance" it was an air defence missile from the Ukrainian side, CNN reported.

He said that the missile likely fell in Poland in "an accident" while intercepting Russian missiles. On November 16, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg after attending North Atlantic Council's meeting on Poland said, "Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks."

Stressing that the incident is not Ukraine's fault, Stoltenberg further said, "But let me be clear. This is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility, as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine."

Earlier on November 16, the leaders of NATO and G7 offered full support and assistance to Poland's ongoing investigation into the explosion that happened near its border with Ukraine.

In a joint statement issued after the "emergency meeting" held on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, the leaders said that they spoke about the explosion in Poland and agreed to remain in contact to determine the next steps as the investigation proceeds.

The joint statement of NATO and G7 leaders reads, "We discussed the explosion that took place in the eastern part of Poland near the border with Ukraine.

We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland's ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds."