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Rishi Sunak said Britain would “support our allies” but said it was “unlikely” Russia fired a missile that killed two people in Poland on Tuesday.
The prime minister’s comments came as Joe Biden pledged US support for Poland, with US intelligence suggesting the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile.
The prime minister took part in an emergency morning meeting over the incident at the G20 summit in Bali.
He was pictured sitting next to the US president, who convened the roundtable of like-minded G7 and NATO leaders.
#Rupture A senior US intelligence official said Russian missiles entered NATO member Poland, killing two people pic.twitter.com/szRMIeqCzY
– PA Media (@PA) November 15, 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Canadian Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel of the European Commission and European Council, respectively, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte were also gathered in the room.
In an official record of the meeting, released by the European Union, the leaders said they had agreed to offer their “full support and assistance to Poland’s ongoing investigation”, while reaffirming their “unwavering support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of ongoing Russian aggression”.
It comes as Mr Biden held a call with Polish President Andrzej Duda, during which the American “offered the full support and assistance of the United States to Poland’s investigation”.
The Prime Minister, who is currently at the G20 in Bali with other world leaders, said he had spoken to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace about the incident.
Mr Sunak also spoke with Mr Duda and ‘reiterated UK solidarity’ with the country and ‘expressed condolences for the victims and their families’.
He tweeted: “We are urgently reviewing reports of a missile strike in Poland and will support our allies as they establish what happened.
“We are also coordinating with our international partners, including NATO.”
According to Downing Street, Mr Sunak offered Poland “all necessary assistance to establish as a matter of urgency what happened”.
“Leaders agreed to stay in close contact and continue to coordinate with our international partners, including NATO allies, on next steps,” a spokesperson said.
So far, little information is known about the incident, but it has already raised concerns in Ukraine and among the war-torn nation’s allies in Europe and beyond.
The Polish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday evening that a Russian-made missile fell in eastern Poland and killed two people.
