Two people were killed in an explosion in the Hrubieszów district of eastern Poland, Polish officials said on Tuesday.
“There was an explosion in eastern Poland,” government spokesman Piotr Müller said in Warsaw. He said experts were gathering details of what he called a “serious” situation.
Poland is considering asking its NATO partners Discussion under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty.
Article 4 Allow any member to seek consultation with other members of the coalition, and state: “When either party believes that the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of either party is threatened, the parties will consult together.”
Kyiv’s response: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian missiles hit Poland. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that no strikes were carried out on “targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border”.
CNN on the scene: CNN’s Matthew Chance in the small town of Przewodów, near the Polish-Ukrainian border where the deadly blast took place. Chance said police had blocked off the road to prevent reporters from entering the scene. A local resident told CNN they heard a terrifying “whoosh” as a shell flew over the town. Chance spoke to administrators at a local school who said the force of the explosion shook classroom windows about 200 meters from the school’s main gate. The students were not on campus when the explosion occurred.
Large plume visible: New videos and photos show plumes of smoke and a crater in Przewodów, just four miles from the Ukrainian border. A video taken by a resident showed a cloud of smoke billowing from the center of the village. CNN geolocated and confirmed the authenticity of the video.
Here’s how world leaders reacted: The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Bali, Indonesia, where he was attending the G20 summit. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after speaking with Duda about the bombing that it was “important to establish all the facts”. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel proposed meeting with other EU leaders attending the G20 summit.
