Russian missiles crossed into NATO Territory on Tuesday, striking the Polish village of Przewodów bordering Ukraine. According to Polish firefighters, two were killed as a result of the explosion.
Poland’s Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, is holding an emergency meeting on the “crisis situation” according to a government spokesperson.
The nearby NATO country, Latvia, also called an emergency meeting, after the Deputy Prime Minister, Artis Pabriks, condemned the “Criminal Russian regime” for firing the missiles.
While the Pentagon has yet to confirm or deny the attack, Press Secretary Patrick Ryder, in a news briefing underscored: “when it comes to our security commitments and Article 5, we’ve been crystal clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Article 5 of the NATO Alliance surrounds collective defense obligations, stating that “an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all…”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the attack, calling NATO to act quickly in response.
“Today, Russian missiles hit Poland,” Zelensky stated. “How many times has Ukraine said that the terrorist state will not be limited to our country? Poland, the Baltic states… It’s only a matter of time before Russian terror goes further.”
“It is necessary to put the terrorist in their place! The longer Russia feels impunity, the more threats there will be to everyone who can be reached by Russian missiles,” he warned. “Hitting missiles on NATO territory… This is a Russian missile attack on collective security!”
“This is a very significant escalation. We must act,” Zelensky urged.
While some have speculated that hitting Poland was simply a Russian misfire during a barrage targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, the former head of the British Army, Richard Dannatt, stressed that “if it wasn’t an accident then it was a test of the West’s response, and that’s something that’s got to be thought through very carefully.”
Pastor Jack Hibbs, earlier this year, noted that the global escalation and weakness of US leadership, Biblically, is an indicator of the times in which we live.
“America used to be that strongman, a bulwark of both morality and leadership, which caused belligerent nations and itching dictators to think twice before making an aggressive move in any direction,” he described. “But sadly, America’s diminished morality has led to a lack of strong leadership, racing downhill on an ever-steepening slope.”
American weakness of the global scene, Hibbs underscored, will only lead to more aggressive actions in the days ahead by Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and others.
“Wars and rumors of wars can be a frightening prospect to those who have no idea what’s coming,” Hibbs explained. “But for the Christian who has studied the Bible, the escalation of aggression we are seeing is just one more indicator that we draw closer to the end” (Matthew 24:6).
