BRUSSELS, 18 November 2022, (TON): Russia’s war in Ukraine jolted NATO this week when a missile exploded in a Polish village near the Ukrainian border, killing two people. Immediately after blast, Polish President Andrzej Duda said the explosive that hit Przewodow, a village of hundreds of people, was most likely Russian-made as an investigation was still ongoing.

His statement sent shockwaves across the world, and NATO leaders expressed their will to defend every inch of territory in the world’s largest military alliance, of which Poland is a member.

Military analysts took to social media to suggest that this could be a moment when the alliance would invoke Article 4, a consultation between NATO countries when one member feels threatened, or Article 5, when an attack is considered violence against the entire alliance, allowing NATO to decide on action it deems fit to protect its members.

The same day, Russia pummelled critical Ukrainian infrastructure with a wave of missile strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the explosion in Poland a very significant escalation and said, “We must act.”