Poland, NATO say strike on Poland wasn’t an attack

Poland and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the missile that struck NATO member Poland and killed two farmers was likely part of Ukraine’s air defense, not a Russian attack. On Tuesday evening, a missile struck a village near the Ukraine-Poland border. The strike was during a barrage of Russian missiles on Ukrainian infrastructure. Ukraine’s military said it shot down 77 of more than 90 Russian missiles Tuesday. Russia said its missiles did not come within 22 miles of the Poland-Ukraine border. 

What would trigger a NATO action? If Russia or Ukraine had intentionally targeted Poland, the strike would have risked drawing NATO into the conflict. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed in 1949 during the Cold War to counter the Soviet Union. Article 4 of the treaty says NATO members will consult with each other if their security is threatened. If the NATO Security Council determines there has been an attack, then Article 5 stipulates that an attack against one party is an attack against them all. 

Dig deeper: Read Todd Vician’s article in WORLD Magazine on Russia’s nuclear capabilities.