NATO: Missile that Killed Two in Poland Was Accidental
2022-11-17
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A missile from the war between Russia and Ukraine landed in Poland and killed two people on Tuesday.
2NATO and the president of Poland said Wednesday the strike was accidental.
3They said Ukrainian forces likely launched the missile.
4The army was using its anti-missile defense systems against a major Russian air attack at the time Poland was hit.
5"It is highly probable that one of these missiles unfortunately fell on Polish territory," said Polish President Andrzej Duda.
6"There is nothing, absolutely nothing, to suggest that it was an intentional attack on Poland."
7NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg agreed, saying it was not "the result of a deliberate attack."
8The words eased tensions that rose on Tuesday when it appeared Russia may have fired the missile into Poland, a NATO country.
9Stoltenberg said Wednesday, however, that Russia is to blame even if the missile came from Ukraine.
10"This is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility."
11The war began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year.
12Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is disputing the reports that the missile came from Ukraine and has demanded evidence.
13He told reporters that Ukraine's top commanders were sure, in Zelenskyy's words, "that it wasn't our missile or our missile strike."
14Ukrainian officials should have access to the site and take part in the investigation, he added.
15If Ukrainian defenses, he said, "killed a person, these people, then we need to apologize. We are honest people after all."
16Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden said it was "unlikely" that Russia fired the missile.
17But, "I'm going to make sure we find out exactly what happened," he added.
18Biden spoke in Indonesia where he is attending the Group of 20 meeting.
19Russia's attack on power generation centers and systems Tuesday included Ukraine's western area bordering Poland.
20Ukraine's military said 77 of the more than 90 missiles fired were brought down by air defenses, along with 11 drones.
21The missile in question hit a town in eastern Poland.
22"The sound was terrifying," said Ewa Byra, a school director there.
23She said she knew both men who were killed - one was the husband of a school employee, the other the father of a former student.
24Russia said Tuesday none of its missiles were any closer than 21 kilometers from the border with Poland.
25It also praised Biden's "restrained" comments about the news.
26The Russian attacks came just days after Ukraine celebrated regaining control in the southern city of Kherson.
27I'm Dan Friedell.
1A missile from the war between Russia and Ukraine landed in Poland and killed two people on Tuesday. 2NATO and the president of Poland said Wednesday the strike was accidental. They said Ukrainian forces likely launched the missile. 3The army was using its anti-missile defense systems against a major Russian air attack at the time Poland was hit. 4"It is highly probable that one of these missiles unfortunately fell on Polish territory," said Polish President Andrzej Duda. "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, to suggest that it was an intentional attack on Poland." 5NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg agreed, saying it was not "the result of a deliberate attack." 6The words eased tensions that rose on Tuesday when it appeared Russia may have fired the missile into Poland, a NATO country. Stoltenberg said Wednesday, however, that Russia is to blame even if the missile came from Ukraine. 7"This is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility." 8The war began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year. 9Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is disputing the reports that the missile came from Ukraine and has demanded evidence. He told reporters that Ukraine's top commanders were sure, in Zelenskyy's words, "that it wasn't our missile or our missile strike." 10Ukrainian officials should have access to the site and take part in the investigation, he added. 11If Ukrainian defenses, he said, "killed a person, these people, then we need to apologize. We are honest people after all." 12Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden said it was "unlikely" that Russia fired the missile. But, "I'm going to make sure we find out exactly what happened," he added. 13Biden spoke in Indonesia where he is attending the Group of 20 meeting. 14Russia's attack on power generation centers and systems Tuesday included Ukraine's western area bordering Poland. Ukraine's military said 77 of the more than 90 missiles fired were brought down by air defenses, along with 11 drones. 15The missile in question hit a town in eastern Poland. 16"The sound was terrifying," said Ewa Byra, a school director there. She said she knew both men who were killed - one was the husband of a school employee, the other the father of a former student. 17Russia said Tuesday none of its missiles were any closer than 21 kilometers from the border with Poland. It also praised Biden's "restrained" comments about the news. 18The Russian attacks came just days after Ukraine celebrated regaining control in the southern city of Kherson. 19I'm Dan Friedell. 20Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a reports by the Associated Press and Reuters. 21___________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23unfortunate -adj. not appropriate or desirable 24intentional -n. on purpose 25deliberate -adj. something that happens because of a plan 26ultimate -adj. coming at the end of a process 27access -n. a way of getting near to something 28drone -n. a small unmanned flying machine 29terrifying -adj. causing great fear 30__________________________________________________________________ 31We want to hear from you. Do you think Ukraine and Russia will slow down their war efforts after this mistake? 32We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 33Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.