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Poland’s president said a rocket explosion that killed two people near its border with Ukraine appeared to be an “unfortunate accident”, not a “deliberate attack”. It comes after the Kremlin accused some Western countries of reacting “hysterically” to the missile attack, but said the United States had shown restraint. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said many countries were making “baseless statements” about Russia’s involvement “without any idea of what had happened.” “We are witnessing another hysterical, frantic Russophobic reaction, which was not based on real data,” Peskov told reporters. “Such a frantic reaction shows that there is never a need to rush to judgment, with statements that can escalate the situation. Especially in such critical moments,” he said. However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the only reason the strike took place was Vladimir Putin’s war. Speaking at a press conference in Bali today, Mr Sunak said: “We must all be clear. None of this would have happened had it not been for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Stoltenberg says Ukraine war ‘likely’ to end at negotiating table
Stoltenberg said the war in Ukraine will “most likely” end at the negotiating table. He told the news conference that any negotiations would be “connected to the power of battle” and that the best way for NATO allies to maximize the possibility of peace was to “support the Ukrainians on the battlefield”. He said that if Ukraine stopped fighting, it would no longer exist as a sovereign nation, but if Russia stopped fighting, the war would end. Mr Stoltenberg also described Nato’s response to a missile that hit Poland on Tuesday as “prudent and responsible”. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (left) spoke about the war in Ukraine (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) “We coordinated our responses,” he said, adding that allied nations worked together to create “the best possible picture of what happened.” “This is about calm and avoiding unnecessary escalation,” he said. Continuing to comment on the incident in Poland on Tuesday, Mr Stoltenberg said: “Of course we were concerned when we received the reports yesterday, and we were particularly sorry that there were two victims. “But at the same time, we are watching, watching very closely and therefore we are prepared to handle situations like this in a firm, calm, decisive way, but also in a way that will prevent further escalation.” Lucy Skoulding16 November 2022 12:51 1668608875
James Cleverly says the missiles are due to Russian aggression
Foreign Secretary James Cleverley spoke to parliament today following a rocket explosion in Poland that killed two people yesterday. He said the full details of what happened were still unknown and the UK would not rush into any kind of crisis. He explained that Poland will lead the investigation into what happened. But Mr Expna added that the only reasons missiles are flying are because of “Russian aggression”. He said: “It is absolutely right that we stand in solidarity with our allies, our official NATO allies and also with the Ukrainian people as they defend themselves. “I have spoken in the past about the need for strategic resilience, recognizing that we need to send the message not just now to Putin, but to any other potential aggressor around the world, that we will defend the UN Charter and defend international humanitarian law. . We will defend the right to territorial integrity and we will defend it until the job is done.” Lucy Skoulding16 November 2022 14:27 1668607683
MI5 chief Ken McCallum says UK will deal with Russian aggression ‘for years’
Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, says the UK will have to deal with aggression from Russia “for years to come”. Mr McCallum revealed on Wednesday that MI5 has blocked more than 100 attempts by Russia to bring spies into the UK since the Salisbury poisonings in 2018. The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury led to the expulsion of 23 Russian spies posing as diplomats in the UK. Since that incident “over 100 applications for diplomatic visas to Russia” have been rejected on national security grounds. Mr McCallum added that Russia had been dealt a “strategic blow” after 400 spies were expelled from across Europe following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Emergency services in Salisbury after poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal (Getty) Lucy Skoulding16 November 2022 14:08 1668605124
Ukraine is not evacuating cities
Ukrainian officials said they would not evacuate cities despite Russia’s missile attacks yesterday. Russia unleashed a wave of missile attacks on energy infrastructure on Tuesday that left millions without power. But the deputy head of the president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said Ukraine would focus on stabilizing the electricity grid. Tymoshenko said significant progress had already been made. Lucy Skoulding16 November 2022 13:25 1668601769
Russia “bears responsibility” for the Polish missile, according to Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that although the missile that killed two people in Poland yesterday was “most likely” from Ukrainian air defenses, it was “not Ukraine’s fault”. Mr Stoltenberg said: “Russia bears responsibility for what happened yesterday in Poland, because this is a direct result of the ongoing war and the wave of attacks by Russia against Ukraine yesterday. “NATO prepares for accidents like this to prevent them from happening and if they do to make sure they don’t get out of hand.” Lucy Skoulding16 November 2022 12:29 1668599944
Ukraine struggles to restore power after Russian missile barrage
Power was fully restored Wednesday in seven regions of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, less than 24 hours after Russian missiles hit energy infrastructure across the country. Work to restore electricity was also underway in seven other regions, said Kirill Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration. He wrote on the Telegram messaging app that emergency outages were still possible, and national grid operator Ukrenergo said it was implementing planned outages across the country as repair work continued “around the clock.” “Please prepare for extended times of limited power supply: Stock up on water and charge your devices and power banks ahead of time to stay in touch with your loved ones,” she said in a statement. Ukrainian officials said Tuesday’s missile barrage was Russia’s largest since its February 24 full-scale invasion. Russian forces have increasingly targeted energy infrastructure in recent weeks, severely damaging up to 40 percent of it, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Industry Research Center in Kyiv, said Tuesday’s attacks had left about 12 million Ukrainians without power, but that electricity had already been restored to the vast majority. Kharchenko estimated it will be five to six weeks before Ukraine’s power grid is repaired well enough for most customers to experience little or no outages. “But that’s only assuming there are no more attacks,” he said in a briefing. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 16 November 2022 11:59 1668599901
The head of NATO gives a press conference
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said there was no indication that the missile attack on Poland was a deliberate attack by Russia. However, he told a press conference that the incident demonstrates that the war in Ukraine continues to create dangerous situations. “This is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears the ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. (REUTERS) Katy Clifton November 16, 2022 11:58 am 1668599104
Polish missile fired by Ukrainian forces at incoming Russian missile, US officials say
A missile that struck Poland on Tuesday afternoon was fired by Ukrainian forces in an attempt to shoot down an incoming Russian missile, US officials said. Three US officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said preliminary assessments suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces during Russian shelling of energy infrastructure across Ukraine. Polish officials said earlier that a “Russian-made missile” landed in a grain store in Przewodow, Lublin, about 6 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Maryam Zakir-Hussain November 16, 2022 11:45 am 1668598204
Ukraine does not consider evacuation of cities – deputy head of the president’s office
Ukrainian officials are not considering evacuating cities after a Russian missile barrage on energy infrastructure left millions without power, a senior official said on Wednesday. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, told Ukrainian television that officials and energy workers were focused on stabilizing the country’s electricity grid and had made significant progress after Tuesday’s missile attacks. Maryam Zakir-Hussain November 16, 2022 11:30 am 1668598030
Poland’s president says missile attack was ‘unfortunate incident’
Poland’s president said a rocket explosion that killed two people near its border with Ukraine appeared to be an “unfortunate accident”, not a “deliberate attack”. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 16 November 2022 11:27
