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Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine
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British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the UK would not rush to a judgment about the origin of a missile which landed in a Polish village Tuesday, killing two people.
“We are not going to rush to judgment. Our response will always be led by the facts,” Cleverly said Wednesday in a speech to the British Parliament, adding the investigation into the incident would be led by Poland.
Cleverly’s warning comes after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a Brussels news conference that “preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks.”
“But let me be clear, this is not Ukraine’s fault,” Stoltenberg said, adding, “Russia bears ultimate responsibility, as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Cleverly, who told parliament, “The only reason why missiles are flying through European skies and exploding in European villages is because of Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.”
The foreign secretary condemned Putin’s “brutal air campaign” on Ukraine on Tuesday, when waves of missiles hit cities across the country.
Cleverly added the strikes were “Putin’s revenge for Ukraine’s successes on the battlefield, where Russian forces have been expelled from thousands of square miles of territory and now he is trying to terrorize the people of Ukraine and break their will by leaving them shivering in cold and darkness.”
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also said Wednesday that he cannot speculate on the missile incident.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “we are all trying to establish the facts. The international community is working together, and I think the Polish prime minister has been pretty clear that we will progress once we know exactly what’s happened.”
Asked what conversations he has had with NATO counterparts, Wallace said that he was in touch with his Polish counterpart on Tuesday, “offering my support.”
His Polish counterpart “replied that they were obviously waiting for intelligence and indeed details to emerge,” Wallace said.
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