An explosion in the Polish town of Przewodow this Tuesday (15), attributed by the local government to a Russian-made missile, brought to the fore again articles of the statute of NATO, the western military alliance of which Warsaw is part.
The case, with details such as the origin of the artifact still to be clarified, took place 8 kilometers from the border with Ukraine and raised tensions in the war that is unfolding in Eastern Europe. This is because, as a member of the US-led coalition, Poland can receive collective military aid from the other members – if it is confirmed that the episode was an attack on the country.
At least two people were killed in the blast, and Russia’s Ministry of Defense denied involvement, setting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s accusations of provocation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov limited himself to saying he had no information about the case.
Alliance representatives are due to hold an emergency meeting this Wednesday (16) to address the matter, based on a Polish request.
According to government spokesman Piotr Müller and President Andrzej Duda himself, Warsaw is already discussing the possibility of resorting to Article 4 of the NATO treaty. The section allows a member to consult the organization on matters of concern when he feels that there is a threat to his territorial integrity, political independence or security.
At the beginning of the war, in February of this year, the three Baltic States (Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia) and Poland even activated Article 4. In such cases, an emergency meeting can take a decision on the following item, which at the limit provides for joint military action.
Article 5 guarantees the so-called principle of collective defense — that is, military protection for any member of the bloc. Under this mechanism, an attack targeting one country is considered an attack against all members of the organization.
In practice, countries with less organized infrastructure can receive protection from military powers like the US. The article is considered the great advantage of being part of the treaty created in 1949, but it is not automatic. A collective action needs to be approved by all members of the organization —today, there are 30, with other adhesion processes running.
To date, Article 5 has only been triggered once, the day after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the US. “There is no automatic trigger,” Jen Psaki, a former White House spokeswoman, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosions in Poland, several leaders highlighted the importance of NATO. “Russian criminal regime fired missiles that hit not only Ukrainian civilians but also NATO territory in Poland,” wrote Latvian Deputy Prime Minister Artis Pabriks.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that “every piece of NATO territory must be defended”. The coalition’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said he had spoken with Duda and expressed regret for the victims, saying the organization was monitoring the case closely, demanding that all the facts be clarified.
The US Department of Defense also said it was investigating the explosion. President Joe Biden was another who, when talking to his Polish counterpart, reinforced the US commitment to the defense of NATO.
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