Missile strike in Poland triggers talk of NATO’s Article 4 & 5: What are they and how can they cause further escalation?

In recent weeks, Russia has been lobbing dozens of missiles at Ukraine in the war that has now entered Day 266. However, on Tuesday evening, a nightmarish scenario emerged when Poland reported that a Russian-made missile struck Przewodow, along the border with Ukraine, killing two people.

The incident has very obvious high stakes as it could lead to an escalation of events — a World War III-type of scenario: this is the first time that the territory of a NATO country has been struck during the near nine month Ukraine war.

The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear. It is not known who fired the missile, or where it was fired from, though the Polish foreign ministry has described it as “Russian-made.”

Witnesses to the blast described hearing a terrifying “whoosh” as the projectile flew over the town and the force of the explosion shook nearby windows.

Video taken by a resident show a large smoke plume in the centre of the village.

At the site of the explosion, local media showed an image of a crater and upturned farm vehicle.