Poland's Soccer Team Escorted to World Cup By F-16s After Missile Strike

Poland's soccer team was escorted to the World Cup in Qatar by F-16 aircraft after a missile landed in the eastern Polish town of Przewodówon Tuesday.

A video of the two F-16 aircraft flying next to the plane transporting the Polish soccer players was posted by ESPN and viewed nearly 2 million times on Twitter. The aircraft were escorting the soccer team to the southern border of Poland as they headed to Qatar.

The Polish National Football Team also posted a picture of one of the F-16 aircraft accompanying the plane.

The Russian-made missile that hit the Polish town on Tuesday, which has killed two people, was the first incident from the Russian war in Ukraine that had directly impacted a NATO member.

Poland said that the missile landed on its territory near its border with Ukraine, but the latest U.S. intelligence suggested that the strike resulted from a partial intercept of a Russian missile by a Ukrainian air defense system.

Three anonymous U.S. officials told the Associated Press that preliminary assessments suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile during a wave of missile attacks on western Ukraine.

The incident came amid a barrage of Russian missile strikes across Ukraine. It remains unclear who fired the missile, or where it was launched from.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the missile strike "a very significant escalation" as the war in his country continues to rage on.

An attack on one of the bloc's 30 members is considered an attack on all under Article 5 of NATO'S charter, which raises concerns about a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine. However, Polish President Andrzej Duda tweeted that the incident appeared to be an "unfortunate accident" instead of an "intentional attack."

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general, said in a statement: "An investigation into this incident is ongoing, and we need to await its outcome. But we have no indication that this was the result of a deliberate attack. And we have no indication that Russia is preparing offensive military actions against NATO.

"Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks.

"But let me be clear. This is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility, as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine."

Russia has denied any connection with the missile that struck Poland, while Zelensky said in a TV address: "I have no doubt that it was not our missile."

Newsweek reached out to Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.