The warfare has reached Poland

The accidental missile strike incident which took place on Tuesday, was just a matter of time. Given the scale of warfare so close to the Polish border and probability of a human error, the question was not if, but when it would happen. The areas near the Ukrainian border are not densely populated, so it took more than a bit of bad luck that the missile hit grain storage facilities during its working hours. The two men working there were the first Polish civilians to have become the casualties of the Russian invasion.

The Polish government convened quickly in an emergency mode to discuss the event and its implications, while holding off on any public commentary. While many detracted from their restraint, I can praise them for not saying a word too much and refraining from jumping to conclusions. Nevertheless, the official silence gave rise to a flood of fake news on social media, particularly on Twitter. The incident gave the Russian trolls an excellent opportunity to sieve misinformation; the opportunity they instantly grabbed.

Also the foreign press agencies added up to the informational chaos, quoting unverified alleged statements of intelligence officers. On top, the Ukrainian president Zelensky did not act up to the mark, by making unfounded claims the missile was shot by the Russian army. No civilised man blames Ukrainians who defend their territory against the aggressor for the death of two men, but they should not depart from the truth. The president Biden has rightly reproached Mr Zelensky over his premature assertion. Hope the Ukrainian head of state learns from his mistake and avoids next diplomatic botch-ups.

In the first hours past the incident I wondered if NATO passed the test it had been put to. With hindsight I believe senior military officers have acted considerately and held back from overreacting of what had definitely not been an attack on the territories of the alliance.

Sadly, the scenario which I envisaged a few weeks ago, i.e. that Russia will be destroying Ukrainian infrastructure to provoke a humanitarian disaster in colder months, is materialising. Even if the hell of warfare comes to an end (with Russia being defeated, no other outcome can be imagined), it will take a few years before Ukraine recovers from losses and decades before wounds in Ukrainians’ heart heal.