The deadly missile incident in Poland is a 'propaganda gift' for the Ukrainians and Zelenskyy, Russia expert says

A US intelligence official told the Associated Press that two people were killed when Russian missiles landed in Poland.

According to a Russia expert, the first seeming spillover of Russia's war beyond Ukraine could benefit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Simon Miles is an assistant professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and a historian of the Soviet Union and US-Soviet relations.

A flurry of responses from global actors followed the missiles hitting the eastern village of Przewodw. Poland's foreign ministry said the missile was made in Russia.

The country's trend of issuing blatant rejections has been tracked by the Russian defense ministry.

Regardless of whether or not the missiles landed in Poland as part of a targeted attack or by mistake, the incident proves that Zelenskyy has been trying to get across for months.

"The fear was that as the winter set in and Russia's coercive use of energy exploits had more effect, that more people would say this is just aUkraine problem and I'm safe and sound on the other side of the border," he said.

US officials have yet to confirm the details of the reports, but Miles said Tuesday's episode proved the opposite.

The chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said that the incidents were the result of Russia's war against the people of Ukraine.

An official said that the Polish government increased its military readiness after an emergency security meeting. A NATO meeting will be held on Wednesday in which Poland will raise concerns about the incident with other members.

President Joe Biden made a declaration that the US would defend all of NATO.

On top of being a tragic event for Poland, the Tuesday incident bolsters the rhetoric of the Ukrainians.

The key point the Ukrainians have been making is that you should support us because this is about more than the country. It's about European security and stability.

Zelenskyy immediately re-upped his appeals, calling the incident an "attack on collective security." Zelenskyy has been pushing for increased NATO assistance since the beginning of the war, and he immediately re-upped his appeals, calling the incident an "attack on collective security."

He said in his address that this was a very significant increase. We need to act.