Polish MP says explosion is 'a sign that the war is here'

Update: After this article was published, NATO ambassadors held an emergency meeting on Wednesday, and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told media there was "no indication that this was the result of a deliberate attack." Stoltenberg and Polish President Andrzej Duda said it appeared that the missile that landed on a grains facility in Poland was a Ukrainian air defence missile. An investigation by NATO is still ongoing.

A Polish MP says the deadly explosion that rang out in a rural village on Tuesday is a sign that the war in Ukraine may have crossed into his country.

Still, Krzysztof Śmiszek says people in Poland are keeping a level head until they learn more about what unfolded.

Two people were killed in an explosion in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland about six kilometres from the border with Ukraine, on Tuesday afternoon. Poland's foreign ministry said it was the result of a Russian-made missile.

The Russian defence ministry denied being behind "any strikes on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border" and said in a statement that photos of purported damage "have nothing to do" with Russian weapons.

Poland, which borders both Russia and Ukraine, is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance that includes the U.S., Canada and many European countries. NATO members are committed to collective defence, so a Russian strike on Poland could risk expanding the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began with Moscow's invasion in February.

Poland has convened an emergency meeting with its NATO allies, and is determining whether to invoke Article 4, which allows NATO members to bring any issue of concern, especially regarding security, for discussion at the North Atlantic Council.

Śmiszek, a Polish opposition MP in Warsaw, spoke to As It Happens host Nil Köksal on Tuesday evening. The following is an excerpt from that interview, which was recorded before the Polish government stated the explosion was caused by a Russian-made missile.

I'm wondering if the war in Ukraine feels even closer to home after what's happened today?

Oh, definitely. Polish society is witnessing this horrible war … but what happened today is a very clear sign that the war is here. The war is very close, and the war is very tangible.

But this is something that we all expected, in a way. Because the war ... is all the time around the corner. So it was just a matter of time, especially for those who are living close to the border, that the war will have a direct influence on their lives.

Can you give us an idea of where these explosions happened? What is that part of the country like?

It's a very small village called Przewodow which is like six, seven kilometres from the border with Ukraine. It's a very calm and rural area. People living there are mostly farmers. 

Are you hearing any reports from people there? What are they saying?

I already heard some testimonies from people who are living there. They said ... a few seconds before the explosion, they saw flying objects, weird flying objects. And then a few seconds later, they heard a huge explosion.

The explosion took place in a grain processing plant. And two people, unfortunately, very sadly, were killed — two workers of this small company.

The Polish government is saying tonight, Krzysztof, that it is raising the readiness of military units and looking into invoking NATO's Article 4. Can you tell us a bit about what that might mean in the coming days?

I see that the government, and rightly, is treating this incident very seriously. That's why the special extraordinary meeting of the National Safety Security Bureau took place.

We have to remember, Poland is a part of NATO. So every decision has to be consulted with our NATO partners.

This is a right decision of the government raising the readiness of the Polish military, as well as .... considering [launching] the Article 4 consultations. Because this is really a serious incident.

This is not only a Polish matter. It's a matter which concerns all the countries which are part of that part of NATO.

What could a military response from NATO look like, in your view, if these were, in fact, accidental strikes?

What I expect is that NATO will take a clear stance in the coming days. First of all, I expect that NATO will examine and verify this incident in close collaboration with the Polish government and Polish services.

However, I expect that NATO should be very clear [about] what happened, and should be very clear in terms of the safety of all of Poland. 

We joined NATO ... many years ago, and we expect that this main value, which is safety on the territory of NATO, will be treated very seriously.

However, just like I said, for the time being, it is too early to say what really happened. And Poland, together with NATO, has to verify the situation.

How worried are you about the risk of escalation here at this stage, you know, of the United States and NATO finding themselves dragged into this war with Russia?

There is a fear, of course, that the situation will be escalating. We see what [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is doing in Ukraine. We see what Putin is doing to the people from Ukraine.

Here in Poland, we live with millions of Ukrainian refugees fleeing from the war zone. So we have friends, we have colleagues, who escaped Ukraine. So we know how horrible the situation can be when Russian troops are entering the country.

You have to remember, Poles together with the Baltic states, we know what it means to have Russia as a neighbour. We've been experiencing this neighbour for a few hundred years. So we know what to expect.

That's why Poland was always insisting and was asking the world to stay very, very ... brave in terms of what Russia is doing. And we were calling on the world to take a firm stance on the situation in Ukraine.

We know what it means to have Russia as a neighbour. That's why there is a fear in the Polish society. However, there is no panic, no hysteria, no no signs of escalation.

We expect the international support will be with us. 

With files from Reuters and The Associated Press. Interview produced by Chris Harbord. Q&A edited for length and clarity.