Missile kills 2 in Poland: What action can member states take under NATO’s Article 4

New Delhi, Nov 16: A missile of an unconfirmed origin hit Poland killing two people on November 15. The incident took place in the Przewodów village around 15 kilometres from the Poland-Ukraine border.

There is no official confirmation, but some reports say that it was a Russian missile. The United States and it Western allies said that the matter is under investigation. The origin of the missile is however not confirmed and the Russian defence ministry has denied the allegations.

Poland remains cautious:

The Polish foreign minister said in a statement that the missile that landed in the Przewodów village was Russian made. However the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda remained cautious and did not confirm the origin of the missile.

He said that Poland officials were not sure about the origin and manufacturer of the missile and added that it was probably Russian made but the same has not been verified. We are acting with calm he said while adding that the situation was a difficult one.

"On November 15, 2022, another hours-long, massive shelling took place of the entire territory of Ukraine and its critical infrastructure by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. At 3:40 pm, a Russia-made missile dropped on the village of Przewodów, district Hrubieszów, Lubelskie province, and resulted in death of two citizens of the Republic of Poland. Therefore, Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Polish MFA and demanded immediate and detailed explanation," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland said.

📄 Statement on summoning the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Polish MFA pic.twitter.com/bXc7qh676A

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) November 16, 2022

Article 4 of NATO under consideration:

Piotr Muller, the spokesperson of the Poland government said that they were verifying the need to request consultations under Article 4 of the NATO military treaty. A moment ago we decided to verify whether there are ground to launch procedures under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, he said.

He further hinted at military readiness and added that it was decided to increase the military readiness of some combat readiness of other units of uniformed services in our country.

What does Article 4 say:

Under Article 4, when a member state feels threatened by another country or a terrorist organisation, it can activate formal consultations among the 30 member states. During the discussions the validity of the threat and possible measures to counter the same are discussed. The decisions are taken unanimously.

Article 4 however does not assure any action against the possible threat mentioned by the member states. Article 4 was pressed last year when Turkey's soldiers were killed in an attack from Syria. While NATO initiated consultations, no action was taken.

What is the US doing:

President of the United States Joe Biden chaired an emergency meeting of world leaders following the explosions. Biden said in a statement that it was unlikely that the missile originated from Russia based on its trajectory.

I'm discussing a meeting with world leaders on the loss of life in Eastern Poland and the United States' commitment to support Poland's investigation, Biden said a tweet.