Russia Envoy Says Ukraine Dragging NATO Into War With Poland Missile Strike

In comments shared with Newsweek, Moscow’s envoy in Washington has accused Kyiv of trying to bring NATO directly into the war after it was determined by allied leaders that a deadly blast across the Polish border was most likely triggered by Ukrainian defense systems attempting to intercept a Russian missile strike.

A number of Western officials initially attributed the cause of the incident Tuesday, which resulted in the deaths of two Polish citizens near the border village of Przewodów, to Russian missiles, sparking fears of a new escalation in the war.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Polish President Andrzej Duda have since acknowledged that it was likely a Ukrainian missile behind the incident, but allied officials including NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg have cast blame on Moscow’s actions for what occurred due to Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine.

And in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has continued to deny it was his forces’ projectile that struck the neighboring NATO state.

In the midst of the fallout, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told Newsweek that “we have noted that Ukrainian missiles landing on Polish territory continues to evoke a significant response in the United States.”

“U.S. officials, media and non-governmental organizations continue to voice a mantra ‘Russia is to blame for everything,'” Antonov said. “The American side resorts to such a method in any difficult situation. Even when the U.S. publicly acknowledges the fact that Kiev is responsible for the deaths of Polish civilians.”

The Russian diplomat derided “absurd attempts to shift responsibility onto our country” and warned they “can only provoke the Kiev regime, which already feels permissiveness.”

“The Ukrainian authorities are not only begging Washington to provide more military assistance,” Antonov added, “but are also trying to provoke a direct military clash between the Russian Federation and NATO.”