Poland will not invite Ukraine to co-host missile strike investigation

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish authorities will not ask Ukraine to co-host the investigation of the fatal missile strike in Poland’s south-east. Warsaw believes the strike was most likely caused by Ukrainian air defense attempting to intercept a missile fired by Russia, according to a senior Polish official.

“The information we have received from the Ukrainian side is of very significant importance to us. However, it is certain that Ukraine, just like any other country, will not be the co-host of the investigation, because this is our, Polish investigation,” Paweł Soloch, an adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda, told local broadcaster Radio Plus in an interview.

Soloch said it is “in the interest of Ukraine, but also ours, and in the interest of the entire Western world, not only NATO states, that this issue does not become an issue that would impact in a way that would limit our truly close cooperation and support, that we, and the entire Western world, provide to Ukraine in its combat against the Russian invader.”

The politician is a longtime aide to Duda, and was appointed by the president to serve as the head of the country’s National Security Bureau from 2015 to 2022. Last month, Duda asked Soloch to serve as his adviser.

The latest announcement comes in response to declarations by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who has disputed the preliminary findings of the Polish government. In a statement released by his office, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s representatives should be allowed to access the missile strike’s site in Przewodów, a village in close proximity to the Ukrainian border.

“It is fair and honest. We have the right to be in a joint investigative team. According to any norms, diplomacy, etc., especially since we are all partners,” Zelenskyy said on Nov. 16.

In a statement released the following day, the Ukrainian president subsequently declared that “our specialists will go there and join this professional community.”

The missile strike, in which two men were killed, took place on Nov. 15 after Russia’s military launched its largest string of attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰当局不会要求乌克兰共同主持对波兰东南部致命导弹袭击事件的调查。一位波兰高级官员表示，华沙方面认为，此次袭击很可能是乌克兰防空部队试图拦截俄罗斯发射的导弹时造成的。

波兰总统安杰伊·杜达的顾问帕维尔·索洛赫在接受当地广播公司Radio Plus采访时表示：“我们从乌克兰方面获得的信息对我们来说非常重要。但是，可以肯定的是，乌克兰和其他任何国家一样，不会成为此次调查的共同主办方，因为这是我们波兰的调查。”

索洛赫表示，“为了乌克兰的利益，也为了我们自身的利益，更为了整个西方世界（不仅仅是北约国家）的利益，这个问题不应该演变成一个会限制我们与乌克兰进行真正密切合作和支持的问题，而我们和整个西方世界正在向乌克兰提供这种合作和支持，帮助乌克兰对抗俄罗斯侵略者。”

这位政治家是杜达的长期助手，并于2015年至2022年被总统任命为国家安全局局长。上个月，杜达邀请索洛奇担任他的顾问。

最新声明是对乌克兰总统泽连斯基的回应，泽连斯基对波兰​​政府的初步调查结果提出异议。泽连斯基在其办公室发表的声明中表示，应允许乌克兰代表进入位于普热沃杜夫（Przewodów）的导弹袭击现场，该村靠近乌克兰边境。

“这是公平公正的。我们有权组成联合调查组。这符合任何规范、外交礼仪等等，尤其因为我们都是合作伙伴，”泽连斯基11月16日表示。

乌克兰总统在第二天发表的声明中宣布，“我们的专家将前往那里，加入这个专业团体。”

11月15日，俄罗斯军方对乌克兰城市发动了一个多月以来最大规模的袭击，随后发生了这起造成两名男子死亡的导弹袭击。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。