Pentagon says Poland blast likely caused by Ukrainian missile

WASHINGTON ― Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin became the latest U.S. official to back Poland’s preliminary conclusion that a fatal missile strike in Poland did not appear to be intentional and was probably launched by air defenses in neighboring Ukraine.

“We have full confidence in the Polish government’s investigation of this explosion. And they’ve been conducting that investigation in a professional and deliberate manner,” Austin told reporters Wednesday, echoing a statement from the White House.

“We’re still gathering information but we have seen nothing that contradicts [Polish] President [Andrzej] Duda’s preliminary assessment that this explosion was most likely the result of a Ukrainian air defense missile that unfortunately landed in Poland. And whatever the final conclusions may be, the world knows that Russia bears ultimate responsibility for this incident,” Austin said.

Also speaking with reporters after a routine virtual meeting of nearly 50 defense chiefs to discuss Russia’s invasion , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley , said that U.S. experts in Poland are assisting with its investigation and that “our information supports” Poland’s findings.

Austin’s comments came as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg , at a meeting of the 30-nation military alliance in Brussels, also supported the preliminary Polish findings. Earlier, Duda said: “There is nothing, absolutely nothing, to suggest that it was an intentional attack on Poland.”

The initial assessments of Tuesday’s deadly landing of the Soviet-era missile appeared to dial back the likelihood of the strike triggering another major escalation in the nearly nine-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine. If Russia had deliberately targeted Poland, that could have risked drawing NATO into the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disputed the preliminary findings and demanded evidence, saying Ukrainian officials should take part in the probe. He told reporters he had “no doubts” about a report he said he had personally received from his top commanders “that it wasn’t our missile or our missile strike.”

Amid Russia’s missile and drone salvos against Ukraine’s infrastructure, including power stations, the Pentagon-led Ukraine Contact Group has pushed to bolster Ukraine’s air defense systems. On Tuesday, Russia launched its biggest wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month.

Milley said air defense capabilities will be “critical” for Ukraine’s success and that the country needs an integrated air and missile defense system to repel Russian aerial attacks.

Russia’s launch of between 60 and 100 missiles “was likely the largest wave of missiles that we’ve seen since the beginning of the war,” Milley said after the Pentagon hosted the seventh meeting of the group.

Milley accused Russia again of war crimes for its strikes on civilian sites, saying a quarter of Ukrainian civilians are without power, according to the Pentagon’s assessment.

Austin said that NASAMS air defense systems the U.S. donated to Ukraine were operational and have had a 100% success rate at intercepting Russian missiles.

“I’m pleased to be able to say that the nation’s air defense systems that we’ve sent to Ukraine are now operational and their performance so far has been very impressive,” Austin said.

Austin highlighted pledges from Sweden for nearly $500 million in air defense systems and other equipment, Germany’s donations of air defense systems, artillery and ammunition ― and artillery and ammunition from Greece and Poland.

The U.K. has pledged to train another 19,000 Ukrainian troops, as Poland and Germany have supported the larger U.S.-led training mission in Europe.

A $400 million U.S. aid package announced Nov. 10 included four highly mobile Avenger air defense systems and Stinger missiles. It also included Hawk mid-range, surface-to-air guided missiles, set to be refurbished using Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding and paired with Hawk launchers provided by Spain ― one of seven countries donating air defense systems, according to Austin.

Zelenskyy on Tuesday reportedly said that out of dozens of launches against his country, Russian attacks hit only 10 targets and that 70 missiles and 10 attack drones had been downed.

The Biden administration on Tuesday asked Congress for another $38 billion in Ukraine aid . Of that, $21.7 billion would be for equipment for Ukraine, to replenish Defense Department stockpiles and continue military and intelligence support.

The White House is also asking Congress to authorize $7 billion in presidential drawdown authority for Kyiv – which allows President Joe Biden to transfer weapons from existing U.S. stocks.

With reporting by The Associated Press.

Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.

华盛顿——美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀成为最新一位支持波兰初步结论的美国官员，该结论认为，波兰境内发生的致命导弹袭击似乎并非蓄意为之，很可能是由邻国乌克兰的防空系统发射的。

“我们对波兰政府对此次爆炸事件的调查充满信心。他们一直在以专业和审慎的方式进行调查，”奥斯汀周三告诉记者，这与白宫的声明相呼应。

“我们仍在收集信息，但目前为止，我们没有发现任何与波兰总统杜达初步评估相矛盾的信息，即此次爆炸很可能是由一枚不幸落入波兰境内的乌克兰防空导弹造成的。无论最终结论如何，全世界都知道，俄罗斯对这起事件负有最终责任，”奥斯汀说道。

在近 50 位国防部长举行例行视频会议讨论俄罗斯入侵事件后，参谋长联席会议主席马克·米利将军在接受记者采访时表示，美国驻波兰专家正在协助波兰进行调查，“我们的信息支持”波兰的调查结果。

奥斯汀发表上述评论之际，北约秘书长延斯·斯托尔滕贝格在布鲁塞尔举行的北约30国军事联盟会议上也对波兰的初步调查结果表示支持。此前，杜达曾表示：“没有任何迹象表明这是一起蓄意针对波兰的袭击。”

周二苏联时期导弹致命袭击事件的初步评估似乎降低了此次袭击引发持续近九个月的俄罗斯入侵乌克兰局势再次重大升级的可能性。如果俄罗斯蓄意以波兰为目标，则可能将北约卷入冲突。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基对初步调查结果提出异议，并要求提供证据，称乌克兰官员应该参与调查。他告诉记者，他“毫不怀疑”他亲自从高级指挥官那里收到的一份报告，该报告称“这不是我们的导弹，也不是我们的导弹袭击”。

在俄罗斯对乌克兰基础设施（包括发电站）发动导弹和无人机袭击之际，由五角大楼领导的乌克兰联络小组一直在努力加强乌克兰的防空系统。周二，俄罗斯对乌克兰城市发动了一个多月以来最大规模的导弹袭击。

米利表示，防空能力对乌克兰的成功至关重要，该国需要一个综合性的防空和导弹防御系统来抵御俄罗斯的空中袭击。

米利在五角大楼主办该组织第七次会议后表示，俄罗斯发射的 60 至 100 枚导弹“可能是自战争开始以来我们所见到的最大规模的导弹发射浪潮”。

米利再次指责俄罗斯袭击平民目标犯有战争罪，并称根据五角大楼的评估，四分之一的乌克兰平民没有电力供应。

奥斯汀表示，美国捐赠给乌克兰的NASAMS防空系统已经投入使用，拦截俄罗斯导弹的成功率达到100%。

奥斯汀说：“我很高兴地宣布，我们向乌克兰提供的国家防空系统现在已经投入使用，到目前为止，它们的表现非常令人印象深刻。”

奥斯汀重点介绍了瑞典承诺提供的近 5 亿美元的防空系统和其他设备，德国捐赠的防空系统、火炮和弹药，以及希腊和波兰捐赠的火炮和弹药。

英国承诺再训练 19000 名乌克兰士兵，波兰和德国也支持了美国领导的欧洲大规模训练任务。

美国于11月10日宣布了一项价值4亿美元的援助计划，其中包括四套高机动性的“复仇者”防空系统和“毒刺”导弹。该计划还包括“鹰”式中程地对空导弹，这些导弹将利用乌克兰安全援助计划的资金进行翻新，并配备由西班牙提供的“鹰”式发射装置——据奥斯汀称，西班牙是七个捐赠防空系统的国家之一。

据报道，泽连斯基周二表示，俄罗斯对俄罗斯发动了数十次袭击，其中只有 10 个目标被击中，70 枚导弹和 10 架攻击无人机被击落。

拜登政府周二向国会申请追加380亿美元对乌克兰援助。其中217亿美元将用于向乌克兰提供装备，补充国防部库存，并继续提供军事和情报支持。

白宫还要求国会授权向基辅撤出 70 亿美元的总统撤军资金——这将允许乔·拜登总统从美国现有的武器库存中转移武器。

美联社报道。

乔·古尔德是《防务新闻》的资深五角大楼记者，负责报道国家安全政策、政治和国防工业的交汇点。他此前曾担任国会记者。