2024-11-25 14:49 update: 2024-11-25, 14:51
Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
Russia has climbed to a new level in the escalation of the conflict, a development that was anticipated, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Polish defence minister, has said.
Kosiniak-Kamysz, while on a visit to the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, was asked on Monday about last week's attack on southeastern Ukraine in which Russia launched a new mid-range ballistic missile that reached speeds of Mach 10 (2-3 kilometres per second).
The minister told PAP that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict was escalating. "Russia is employing all possible resources and means," he said. "However, this increase in Russian aggression is something we anticipated."
According to him, Russia's attack on Thursday was another stage in the "conflict escalation ladder." He said that the situation called for even more unity on the part of the West and NATO.
In his opinion, Russia's conduct should "steer the West." In this context, he mentioned a meeting with defence ministers from Germany, France, the UK, and Italy that he would attend in Berlin later on Monday. The ministers are scheduled to discuss the enhancement of Europe's security and defence in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The US Department of Defense has reported that just before the attack, Russia had notified the United States of its plans, and this information was then relayed to Ukraine and US allies.
On Friday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country would continue testing the new ballistic missile that had been launched against Ukraine a day earlier, mentioning its capability to strike any location in Europe. (PAP)
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