November 16, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Two officials briefed on initial US assessments said it appears the missile that killed two people in eastern Poland Wednesday originated in Ukraine, even though it was Russian made.

The official said that assessment is what President Joe Biden appeared to be alluding to in his remarks earlier when he said it was “unlikely” the missile originated in Russia,

The officials said intelligence assessments had been discussed at the emergency meeting called by Biden on the margins of the G20 summit in Bali and would also be a topic of conversation at a meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels.

The joint statement after the G7 meeting was also deliberately ambiguous when it came to the incident, putting far more focus on the dozens of strikes that happened in the hours before the missives crossed into Poland.

A spokesperson with the US National Security Council declined to comment on reports that the Russian-made missile that landed in eastern Poland killing two people was fired by Ukrainian forces trying to intercept a Russian attack.

"We have no comment and will not be confirming this report. As the President said today, we support Poland’s ongoing investigation to figure out exactly what happened," the spokesman said.

Earlier, President Biden said preliminary information suggests it is unlikely the missile that landed in Poland was fired from Russia after consulting with allies at the G20 Summit in Indonesia.

"I don’t want to say that [it was fired from Russia] until we completely investigate," Biden went on. "It’s unlikely in the minds of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see."

Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have used Russian-made munitions during the nine-month conflict. CNN has previously reported that Ukraine has used Russian-made missiles as part of their air defense system. These older-generation weapons systems date back to the period when both Russia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union.

In a statement to CNN on Wednesday, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not explicitly deny reports the missile originated in Ukraine but emphasized Russia’s responsibility for starting the war.

“There is only one logic to be followed,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, said. “The war was started and is being waged by Russia. Russia is massively attacking Ukraine with cruise missiles. Russia has turned the eastern part of the European continent into an unpredictable battlefield. Intent, means of execution, risks, escalation – it is all coming from Russia alone.”

“And there can be no other explanation for any missile incident here. So when an aggressor country launches a deliberate, massive missile strike against a large country on the European continent with its obsolete Soviet-era weapons (Kh -class missiles), tragedy sooner or later occurs on the territories of other states as well.”

Indonesian President Joko Widodo asked for "calm" at the G20 summit in Bali, after a missile struck Poland near its border with Ukraine on Tuesday.

"I regret the incident in Poland. I call all parties to remain calm and refrain from escalating tension," Joko told journalists during a news conference on wrapping up the G20 summit in Indonesia on Wednesday. 

"I always say that war will only bring devastation. Therefore, we must stop the war. And President Biden has already said that the missile is unlikely coming from Russia," Widodo added. 

US President Joe Biden said earlier Wednesday that there was preliminary information that "contests" claims the missile was fired from Russia. 

"I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate," Biden went on. "It’s unlikely in the minds of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see.”

Global leaders gathered at the conference attempted to alleviate a potential escalation in the Kremlin's war on Ukraine after Poland said a "Russian-made" missile struck an area outside the rural village of Przewodow and killed two people.

The incident marked the first time a NATO-member has been directly hit during the conflict. It is not known who fired the missile, or exactly where it was launched from.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed reporting.

World leaders, gathered at the G20 summit in Bali, have called for the "full implementation" of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, stressing its importance for maintaining global food security. 

Members said they "welcomed" the UN-brokered grain deal and its efforts to "ease tension and prevent global food insecurity and hunger in developing countries," in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

"We emphasize the importance of their full, timely and continued implementation by all relevant stakeholders, as well as the UN Secretary-General’s calls for continuation of these efforts by the Parties," the leaders stressed in the declaration, published as the summit in Bali, Indonesia, wrapped Wednesday.  

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday cast doubt on the future of the agreement, which was negotiated to allow the safe passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain and ease a global food crisis inflamed by the war.

The G20 said that it has also taken note of other initiatives to tackle the issue of food insecurity, name-checking the Arab Coordination Group's $10 billion package to address the issue.

US President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan both agreed that the grain deal has been "critical to improving global food security amid Russia’s war," and emphasized the need for its continued implementation at a bilateral meeting on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told Russia state media RIA Novosti that Moscow’s decision on the extension of the grain deal will be made taking into account the implementation of the Russia-UN memorandum on the export of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products.

Ukrainians will face further scheduled and unscheduled power cuts Wednesday, a day after Russia fired 85 missiles at the country mostly targeting critical infrastructure.

“Massive missile strikes on November 15 on the energy infrastructure and cold weather further complicated the situation with the power system,” the state energy company NPC Ukrenergo said in a statement Wednesday. 

The company said that repair crews were working “around the clock” to restore electricity.

Tuesday's strikes targeted power infrastructure in several regions of the country, leaving more than seven million people without power and sapping electricity supply nationwide, according to authorities.

The deputy head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, gave an update on Wednesday of the power situation around the country.

Seven Ukrainian regions still have areas without power, including the northeastern Kharkiv region, the western Lviv region and the northeastern Sumy region, while power has been restored in seven regions including central Kyiv and Odesa in the south.

Authorities in the recently liberated Ukrainian city of Kherson have shortened its nightly curfew in order to help with demining following the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Ukrainian forces swept into Kherson on Friday as Russian troops retreated to the east, delivering a major victory to Kyiv and marking one of the biggest setbacks for President Vladimir Putin since his invasion began.

Over the weekend, the city introduced a curfew from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. local time to ensure the safety of residents. People were prohibited from being on the streets and other public places in Kherson during those hours.

This has now been reduced to 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m in order to assist with new safety measures, particularly the removal of mines.

The Kherson city administration said on Telegram: “The curfew has been changed in order to carry out stabilization measures on the de-occupied territory of the settlements of the Kherson city territorial community, in particular, demining of this territory and taking measures for the safety of the civilian population of the community.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that allies held an "urgent meeting" at the G20 summit in Bali to "underscore our solidarity with Ukraine and Poland," after a deadly missile landed in eastern Poland on Tuesday.

"While other world leaders were working together to tackle the greatest challenges our people face, Putin was launching indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Ukraine," Sunak said on Wednesday during a press conference at the conclusion of the summit.

"None of this would be happening if it weren't for Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

Some context: The missile hit an area outside the rural Polish village of Przewodow, about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) west of the Ukrainian border.

It marks the first time a NATO country has been directly hit during the almost nine-month conflict. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear and it is not known who fired the missile or where it was launched from.

Sunak and his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, have spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and highlighted the "importance of a full investigation" into the shelling, according to Downing Street.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and emphasized the "importance of a full investigation" into a missile that landed in Poland on Tuesday, according to Downing Street.

“The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Trudeau emphasised the importance of a full investigation into the circumstances behind missiles falling in Poland yesterday," Downing Street said in a statement on Wednesday.

Poland said a "Russian-made" missile hit the country on Tuesday, killing two people. The incident marks the first time a NATO country has been directly hit during the conflict. It is not known who fired the missile, or precisely where it was fired from.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the fall of a missile within Poland's border shows the West is moving closer to a world war.

Russia has denied it had anything to do with the missile that landed in eastern Poland on Tuesday and killed two people, roughly at the same time as Moscow launched its biggest wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month.

The strike marks the first time a NATO country has been directly hit during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is not known who fired the missile, or exactly where it was launched from, although the Polish Foreign Ministry has described it as "Russian-made."

Medvedev is the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council. He served as Russia's president between 2008 and 2012 and prime minister between 2012 and 2020.

China's Foreign Ministry called for calm on Wednesday after Poland said a “Russian-made missile” had landed in a village near its border with Ukraine, killing two people.

Asked about the incident in a regular briefing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said all parties should “remain calm, exercise restraint and prevent the situation from escalating."

Some context: Although China has consistently called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, it has refused to condemn Russia's invasion. Instead, Beijing has called for the "legitimate security concerns of all parties" to be recognized, while blaming the US and NATO for the conflict.

Beijing and Moscow have become close partners in recent years as both face tensions with the West, with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring the two countries had a "no-limits" partnership weeks before Russia's invasion began

So far, Beijing has not provided direct military or financial aid to Moscow that could spark sanctions from Washington. Meanwhile, Chinese state media has previously reported on leader Xi Jinping’s support for international peace talks as a mechanism for ending the war.