U.S. Says, Russia Bore Ultimate Responsibility For Poland Blast

Washington on Thursday made it clear that Russia bore ultimate responsibility for a deadly blast in Poland, where an initial probe pointed to Ukrainian air defences, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"Whatever its final conclusion, we already know the party ultimately responsible for this tragic incident -- Russia" - Blinken told reporters following his call with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

"The Secretary reiterated that Russia bears full responsibility and culpability for its war against Ukraine and that Ukraine has the inviolable right to protect its citizens and sovereign territory against such attacks," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a readout of the call.

Blinken in his turn told reporters that "what we are seeing every single day now is Russia raining missiles down on Ukraine, seeking to destroy its critical infrastructure, targeting the ability that Ukraine has to keep the lights on, to keep the heat going, to allow the country simply to live and move forward."

"Ukraine has the right to defend itself and we are committed to supporting Ukraine," he emphasized.

Washington has "seen nothing so far that contradicts" Poland's preliminary assessment that Ukrainian air defences were to blame for the border blast. In the meantime, Blinken said the U.S would "continue to assess and share new information" on the incident with Ukraine.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.