The deadly blast in Poland that killed two people and led to fear of Russia's war with Ukraine escalating into a wider conflict was most likely caused by Ukraine's air defense responding to a Russian missile barrage, rather than a deliberate attack from the Kremlin itself, leaders of NATO and members state Poland confirmed on Wednesday (November 16) via NBC News.
Russia launched an aerial assault throughout Ukraine on Tuesday (November 15), which led to widespread blackouts before an explosion took place in neighboring Poland.
The Kremlin denied any involvement in the blast and U.S. President Joe Biden said it was "unlikely" that Russia had launched the missile after speaking with Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, called for a "joint study" to take place at the site of the deadly incident and confirmed that Ukraine was waiting for its allies to provide evidence that the missile hit Poland.
"We are ready to hand over the evidence of the Russian trail that we have," Danilov said in a tweet on Wednesday via NBC News. "We are expecting information from our partners, on the basis of which a conclusion was made that it is a Ukrainian air defense missile."
Ukraine's capital city was struck by a deadly wave of Russian "kamikaze" drones on October 17 following a previous deadly barrage across the country, NBC News reported at the time.
Ukrainian officials said the attacks were carried out by Iranian-made drones carrying explosives, which they said Russia deployed as the country runs low on precision missiles and once again called for aerial defensive assistance from Western allies.
The attacks came days after the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia was hit by rounds of Russian missile attacks.
Missiles struck a school, a medical facility and residential buildings on October 11, city council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev announced via the Associated Press.
The State Emergency Service confirmed one person died in the attacks, which included 12 S-300 missles smashing through the public facilities and leaving fire throughout the area.
Russia launched previously two missile attacks in Zaporizhzhia, which resulted in one death and at least five others being trapped near Europe's largest nuclear power plant, on October 6.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the strikes were in retaliation for Ukraine targeting the Kerch Bridge, which he referred to as "terrorist" actions, the Associated Press reports.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, a Russian region in the North Caucasus, said he was "100% happy" with Putin's recent course of "special military operation" in Ukraine and called for "more drastic measures" to be taken via the Associated Press.
Senior Russian lawmaker Sergei Mironov had previously called on the Kremlin to disregard Western opinion and carry out more attacks on Ukraine.
“It is time for fighting! Fiercely, even cruelly. Without looking back at whatever censures from the West,” Mironov tweeted Saturday (October 8). “There won’t be any bigger sanctions. They won’t say any worse words. We need to do our thing. We started it — we should go till the end. There is no way back. Time to respond!”
Zaporizhzhia is one of four regions that Putin illegally claimed the annexation of, along with Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson.
The documents finalizing the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which violated international laws, were published on a Russian government website on October 5, days after Ukraine announced it had retaken control of Lyman, a city within Donetsk, the Associated Press reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that "certain territories will be reclaimed, and we will keep consulting residents who would be eager to embrace Russia" while addressing reporters during a conference call last Wednesday (October 5).
Putin's initial announcement of annexation last week came after several previous setbacks during Russia's invasion of Ukraine and prior to the neighboring country reclaiming Lyman.
Pro-Russian officials confirmed that Kremlin troops were on the verge of encirclement in Lyman amid Putin's announcement last week, while others believed the battle would've provided an opening for Ukraine to take back the four territories, according to Reuters.
In September, Putin announced a partial military mobilization of 300,000 reservists and reiterated warnings to Western allies that he was ready to use nuclear weapons in Moscow's ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine, during a rare, prerecorded television announcement, Reuters reported.
Putin claimed that Ukraine -- a country he ordered troops to invade earlier this year -- "wants to destroy our country" during the announcement.
"If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people - this is not a bluff," Putin said via Reuters.
Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed that 300,000 reservists with prior military experience would be called up as part of the partial mobilization.
The decision marked Russia's first mobilization since World War II and the biggest escalation since invaded Ukraine in February.
Ukraine and its Western allies said Putin's call for more troops signified that his invasion of the neighboring country was failing.
"Absolutely predictable appeal, which looks more like an attempt to justify their own failure," Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters. "The war is clearly not going according to Russia's scenario."
Allies vowed to continue their support of Ukraine amid Putin's announcement.
Putin announced his country would conduct military operations in Eastern Ukraine during an NBC News translation of a speech addressing the Russian population in Moscow on February 24.
The announcement appeared to serve as the final action ahead of an attack by Putin and the Russian military, which the U.S. and European allies to the neighboring Ukraine have attempted to prevent from taking place through diplomatic discussions.