Ukraine War Over When 'Each Road' Free, Polish PM Says After Missile Dustup

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reiterated his support for Ukraine on Saturday, just weeks after NATO determined a missile that struck a village in Poland was accidentally fired by Ukraine.

Morawiecki held a meeting with his counterparts from Ukraine and Lithuania, in which they discussed their cooperative efforts amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has now entered its ninth month.

The meeting follows a dustup on the Ukraine-Poland border earlier this month. On November 15, a missile hit a Polish village, killing two people. Leaders initially believed the missile came from Russia, sparking concerns of an escalated military conflict. However, the NATO has said the missile was likely accidentally fired by Ukraine's air forces.

Despite the frenzy, Poland has showed no signs of wavering in its support for Ukraine in recent weeks. Morawiecki on Saturday doubled down on calls to support the Eastern European country fend off the Russian invasion, which has been subject to international rebuke, with leaders raising concerns about a lack of justification and violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Morawiecki condemned European leaders for being "too late" to realize that Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to invade Ukraine before he launched the "special military operation" on February 24.

"Europe has noticed the threat from Russia too late, which is why today we cannot procrastinate with providing help to Ukraine. This war will end when each house, each school, each hospital, and each road is reclaimed," Morawiecki said in remarks translated by The Kyiv Independent following the meeting, according to his office's Twitter account.

The strike, widely viewed as accidental, did not significantly shake up relations between Ukraine, Poland and NATO. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the strike, which was fired as Ukraine defended itself against Russian attacks on its infrastructure, "was not Ukraine's fault."

"Russia bears ultimate responsibility, as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine," Stoltenberg said earlier in November.

Morawiecki has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine throughout the conflict. Earlier this week, he called for world leaders to take "preventative action" to bolster Ukraine ahead of the winter during remarks made in Kosice, Slovakia.

"The coming months might be very, very difficult, after all winter is coming and the Russians are bombarding energy infrastructure with premeditation, depriving people in Ukraine of electricity, heat and leading to a humanitarian drama," he said.

The strike caused initial panic, as little information was available about where the strike came from and how Poland would react. However, most concerns have been quelled, and Poland has pushed for "Patriot" missiles to be stationed in Ukraine, along their shared border, amid concerns of escalation.

Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

Correction 11/28/22, 1:36 p.m. ET: This article was updated to correctly state that Kosice is in Slovakia.