Russian Missiles Cross NATO Border, Killing Two in Poland: Report

Russian missiles reportedly crossed into Poland on Tuesday, killing two individuals.

An unnamed senior U.S. intelligence official relayed the information to the Associated Press. Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller did not confirm the information but said an emergency meeting was being held by top leaders of the NATO country to tend to the "crisis situation."

According to Polish media, two people died Tuesday afternoon after a projectile struck an area where grain was drying in Przewodów—a Polish village near the border with Ukraine.

Artis Pabriks, deputy prime minister and minister of defense in Latvia, expressed remorse for the victims.

"My condolences to our Polish brothers in arms," Pabriks tweeted. "Criminal Russian regime fired missiles which target not only Ukrainian civilians but also landed on NATO territory in Poland. Latvia fully stands with Polish friends and condemns this crime."

Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, tweeted that he was aware of no formal confirmation of the attack and casualties in Poland.

"Do you have the same worried and tense feeling about the situation?" he added.

Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, tweeted that he "cannot imagine russia intended to hit poland with those missiles. but this is a huge mistake..."

Many users across social media brought up Article 5, essentially meaning that an attack against one NATO country is also an attack against all allies.

Article 5 was invoked for the first time following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It has also been referred to on several occasions as means of defense, such as in response to situations in Syria and Russia's current and ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

"We are looking into these reports and closely coordinating with our ally Poland," a NATO spokesperson told Newsweek.

Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder would not confirm or deny the reports in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

"I don't want to speculate when it comes to our security commitments and Article 5," Ryder told gathered media. "But we have made it crystal clear that we will protect every inch of NATO territory."

Earlier in the day, Russia reportedly shelled Ukraine's energy facilities with what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as at least 85 missiles mostly aimed at energy infrastructure. Power outages were experienced in multiple cities.

"We're working, will restore everything," Zelensky said. "We will survive everything."

His energy minister reportedly called the attack "the most massive" bombardment of power facilities during the almost nine-month-old war. Power generation and transmission systems were hit.

Neighboring Moldova was also hit, the AP reported, also leading to power outages.

Update 11/15/22, 3:57 p.m. ET: This story was updated with a response from NATO.