Blinken: Russia bears ultimate responsibility for missile downing in Poland

The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today that Russia bears “ultimate responsibility” for the fall of a missile in Poland which resulted in two people being killed yesterday, Tuesday, as an investigation is expected to determine where that missile was fired from.

“Whatever the conclusion of the investigation, we already know the party that bears the ultimate responsibility for this tragic event: Russia,” the US secretary of state said from Bangkok, ahead of a summit of leaders of the Asian Economic Cooperation organization – Pacific (APEC).

“What we see every day today is Russia raining missiles into Ukraine, seeking to destroy its critical infrastructure, targeting Ukraine’s ability to keep the lights on, the heat on, and the country livable. and go forward,” said the head of US diplomacy.

“Ukraine has a right to defend itself and we are committed to supporting Ukraine,” he added.

Anthony Blinken reiterated that the United States “has seen nothing to contradict” the case put forward by Warsaw, according to which the missile likely came from Ukrainian air defenses.

The foreign minister, who met during the day with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba, said Washington “continues to assess the situation and share new information” about the incident with Kyiv.

The US secretary of state also said that the fact that Russia agreed to renew the Black Sea grain agreement was an indication that Moscow felt that the world would not accept any refusal to extend it.

The agreement to export grain from Black Sea ports was extended earlier today.

“Together, we sent a clear message to President Putin that he should extend the Black Sea grain initiative, which was set to expire on Saturday,” Blinken told a news conference in Bangkok.

“Russia again listened and apparently felt that the world would not accept Moscow refusing to extend the agreement.”