Missile strike in Poland: Why it matters and how world leaders reacted

Polish President Andrzej Duda sought to calm tensions, saying there was no 'unequivocal evidence' for where the missile came from. Yet, Poland raised its military readiness.

Here are some of the major reactions from other nations:

US President Joe Biden and leaders of key allies held "emergency" talks on Wednesday after a missile hit Polish territory near the border with Ukraine, the White House said.

The meeting in Bali, where a G20 summit is under way, was set to include the leaders of all other G7 nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Earlier, Biden called Duda. The two leaders "said that they and their teams should remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds", according to the White House.

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Speaking to reporters in Bali, Biden said that the United States and its allies would "figure out exactly what happened" in Poland.

He also said it was "unlikely" that the missile had been fired from Russia.

The president of Ukraine offered condolences to Duda in a call.

"We exchanged information and are clarifying all the facts," Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed as a "conspiracy theory" that the missile may have been fired by Ukrainian air defences.

The defence ministry in Moscow dismissed reports that missiles fired by Russian forces had landed in Poland.

"Polish mass media and officials commit deliberate provocation to escalate [the] situation with their statement on alleged impact of 'Russian' rockets," it said in an online statement.

"Russian firepower has launched no strikes at the area."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed solidarity with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

"The chancellor has just telephoned Polish President Duda and expressed his condolences ... Germany stands closely by the side of our Nato partner Poland," Scholz's spokesman tweeted.

Nato member Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Duda to express "solidarity", Downing Street said.

"The Prime Minister offered any assistance needed to urgently establish what happened," it added.

French President Emmanuel Macron had called for talks at the G20 summit in Indonesia over the strike, his office told AFP prior to the White House roundtable announcement.

In France's National Assembly, State Secretary Sonia Backes delivered a message to deputies from Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne:

"The government is following the situation on the ground in conjunction with our Polish allies very closely. In any case, Poland can count on France's solidarity."

EU chief Charles Michel said he was "shocked" by reports of the strike.

"My condolences to the families," he tweeted.

"We stand with Poland. I am in contact with Polish authorities, members of the European Council and other allies."

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