JAKARTA - Two people died as a result of an explosion in a Polish village near the border with Ukraine on Tuesday, prompting NATO to investigate reports that had not been confirmed if the explosion originated from Russian missiles.
The explosion came after Russia hit cities across Ukraine with missiles on Tuesday, an attack that Kyiv said was the toughest wave of attacks nearly nine months after Russia's invasion. Some hit the western city of Lviv, less than 80 km from the border with Poland.
Polish ZET radio reported that two stray missiles hit Przewodow, killing two people, without elaborating. The village is 6 km (3.5 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
Poland is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a Western military alliance led by the United States. Whether intentional or not, a possible explosion caused by a Russian attack raised concerns.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called for an emergency government committee meeting on national security and defense affairs on Tuesday evening, a Piotr government spokesman Muller said on Twitter.
A NATO official said the alliance was investigating reports and coordinating closely with Poland.
The Associated Press quoted a senior US intelligence official as saying the explosion in eastern Poland's Przewodow Village was caused by a Russian missile passing into Poland.
In Washington, the Pentagon and the US State Department said they could not confirm the Russian missile had landed in Polish territory.
"We are aware of a press report stating that two Russian missiles have attacked locations within Poland near the Ukrainian border. I can tell you that we do not have any information at this time to corroborate the report and are investigating this further," said Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General PatrickRIDer.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, without providing evidence, "Russian missiles hit Poland."
Separately, Russia's Ministry of Defense denied reports that Russian missiles had landed in Poland, describing it as a "deliberate provocation, aiming to escalate the situation".
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