Russian missiles kill two in POLAND, sparking emergency meetings in NATO state

Two people have been killed in Poland after explosions hit a farm near the border with Ukraine in what is thought to be a botched Russian missile attack.

Twin explosions rang out this afternoon in Przewodów, a rural village located less than ten miles from the Ukrainian border in south western Poland.

A senior US intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the fatal blasts were caused by a pair of wayward Russian missiles. 

It follows a report by Polish Radio ZET which also claimed two stray missiles hit Polish soil, without providing more details. 

The blasts came as Moscow launched fresh missile attacks across Ukraine today in what Kyiv said was the heaviest wave of missile strikes in nearly nine months of war.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called an urgent meeting of a government committee for national security and defence affairs amid the news, a government spokesman said. 

Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller did not immediately confirm U.S. intelligence reports of the missile strike, but did say top leaders were holding an emergency meeting due to a 'crisis situation.' 

Pentagon spokesman Big. Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a statement that the U.S. is still looking into the reported missile strikes in Poland, a NATO member, but added: 'we've been crystal clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.' 

Poland is a member of NATO which maintains a 'collective defence policy', meaning that an attack on one nation in the security bloc is an attack on all. 

Article 5 of the Washington treaty - NATO's founding agreement - stipulates that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, 'each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked'.

A pair of blasts are reported to have rang out in Przewodów, a rural village located less than ten miles from the Ukrainian border in south western Poland. The aftermath of the explosions, which killed two, is pictured

A chunk of metal is pictured lying in the dirt after Russian missiles landed on Polish soil and killed two

At least three Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Tuesday, with mayor Vitali Klitschko saying they all struck residential buildings

Polish president Andrzej Duda is pictured. Polish officials were called into an emergency meeting following the news that a pair of Russian missiles had hit a village near the border with Ukraine, killing two

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of Pobeda (Victory) organising committee via teleconference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on November 15, 2022

Russia unleashed one of its largest missile barrages to date at Ukraine today, leaving the country's energy network 'critical' with rolling blackouts. 

More than 100 rockets were fired at cities across the country, hitting civilian buildings and power stations, the Ukrainian air force said.

The bombardment left half of Kyiv, where at least one civilian died, and the whole city of Zhytomyr without power.

Strikes were also reported in the western city of Lviv - the closest large urban settlement to the Polish border - and caused partial blackouts. 

Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, Rivne, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Ivano-Frankivsk were also targeted.. 

It came just hours after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky - speaking via videolink from Kyiv - told world leaders at the G20 Bali summit that he is ready to end the war provided Russia withdraws its troops from areas it currently occupies. 

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov - speaking later at the summit in Indonesia - accused the West of waging 'hybrid war' in Ukraine and Kyiv of 'prolonging' the conflict, without mentioning Russia's own involvement in the fighting.

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a residential building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv

'There is an attack on the capital. According to preliminary information, two residential buildings were hit in the Pechersk district,' Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

'Several missiles were shot down over Kyiv by air defence systems. Medics and rescuers are at the scene of the strikes.'

Moments later, he added: 'Another hit in the Pechersk district. Multi-storey building.'

Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky's staff, said the attack was a response to the president addressing the G20 - ramping up pressure on Russia to stop its attacks.

'Does anyone seriously think that the Kremlin really wants peace? It wants obedience. But at the end of the day, terrorists always lose,' Yermak said.

Russian forces have in recent weeks been targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine and has launched barrages of missiles and swarms of drones.

Around a third of Ukraine's power-generating capacity has been taken out, causing rolling blackouts across the country just as winter hits.

Kyiv was last targeted by Russian forces nearly one month ago on October 17.

Russia faced mounting diplomatic pressure Tuesday to end its war in Ukraine, as G20 allies and critics alike rued the painful global impact of nearly nine months of conflict.

A draft communique obtained by AFP showed the world's 20 leading economies coming together to condemn the war's effects, but still divided on apportioning blame.

The summit has shown that even Russia's allies have limited patience with a conflict that has inflated food and energy prices worldwide and raised the spectre of nuclear war.

Firefighters work at the scene of a missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, which was struck by Russian rockets hours after President Zelensky spoke at the G20

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a residential building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid attacks on Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the G20 just hours before the missiles hit, calling on Russia to end its invasion of his country

Risking diplomatic isolation, Russia was forced to agree that the war in Ukraine - which Moscow refuses to call a war - has 'adversely impacted the global economy'.

It also agreed that 'the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons' is 'inadmissible', after months of its president Vladimir Putin making such threats.

The embattled Russian leader has skipped the summit, staying at home to reckon with a string of embarrassing battlefield defeats and a grinding campaign that threatens the future of his regime.

Rubbing salt in Russia's wounds, Zelensky - fresh from a visit to liberated Kherson - delivered an impassioned video appeal to G20 leaders.

He said they could 'save thousands of lives' by pressing for a Russian withdrawal.

The United States and its allies used the summit to broaden the coalition against Russia's invasion and scotch Moscow's claims of a conflict of East versus West.