NATO's Ukraine red line tested

There is no evidence a missile that slammed into a Polish border town near Ukraine was an intentional attack, Poland President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday. His comments came as the US and its allies scrambled in the early hours of Wednesday to determine whether Russia's war in Ukraine was potentially expanding. 

👋 Hi, I'm Nicole Fallert with an update on Ukraine. 

The missile, which killed two people in a rural area in Poland, appeared to be Russian-made, Duda said. But officials concluded the missile was not part of a direct attack on a NATO ally.

“Ukraine’s defense was launching their missiles in various directions and it is highly probable that one of these missiles unfortunately fell on Polish territory,” Duda said. “There is nothing, absolutely nothing to suggest that it was an intentional attack on Poland.”

The news brought relief to NATO envoys who convened in Brussels Wednesday to discuss the nature of the strike. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a preliminary analysis suggests the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks.

He said NATO has “no indication that Russia is preparing action” against any of its 30 member countries. The blast came as Russia launched widespread aerial strikes across Ukraine and immediately sparked concern that Moscow might be broadening the war.

✍ More from Ukraine:

• President Joe Biden had planned to finish up his last day in Asia with fellow G-20 leaders. But U.S. officials scrambled overnight to determine if the strikes were intentional attack on a NATO ally, which would warrant a military response, or the result of an errant Russian missile. Biden and world leaders present in Bali gathered for an emergency meeting to discuss the strike.
• French President Emmanuel Macron urged China to play a greater mediation role in efforts to end the war. He said he might meet in Beijing next year with President Xi Jinping.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN. Want to send Nicole a note, shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com. Support journalism like this –subscribe to Paste BN here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.