US Defense Secretary: "US NASAMS Missiles Supporting Ukraine Have 100% Hit Rate"

"Poland Missile Explosion, Ultimately Russia's Responsibility"
"Support to Maintain Leadership in Ukraine War"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized that the missile explosion incident near the eastern Poland-Ukraine border was most likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile misfire, and that the advanced air defense weapon 'NASAMS' recently provided by the U.S. did not misfire. He also stated that the ultimate responsibility for the incident lies with Russia, drawing a clear line against the theory blaming Ukraine raised by some.

On the 16th (local time), Secretary Austin, during a joint press conference with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley at the U.S. Department of Defense, said, "The missile that caused the explosion in Poland was unfortunately most likely a Ukrainian air defense missile," and added, "There has been nothing yet that contradicts the preliminary investigation conducted by Poland regarding the missile."

He continued, "The NASAMS air defense system provided by the U.S. to Ukraine showed a 100% hit rate in intercepting Russian missiles during the Russian missile strikes the day before, successfully intercepting all Russian missiles," emphasizing again that the incident was caused by a misfire of the Soviet-era S-300 air defense missile operated by the Ukrainian military, not by U.S.-supplied weapons.

Secretary Austin asserted that the ultimate responsibility for this incident lies with Russia. He stated, "Whatever the final conclusion may be, the world knows that Russia must bear ultimate responsibility for this incident," and added, "Russia has launched another massive missile attack targeting Ukraine, specifically Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. This tragic and problematic incident once again reminds us of the recklessness of the war chosen by Russia."

Since the accident was caused by a misfire of a Ukrainian air defense missile launched to defend against Russian missile attacks, the logic follows that the root cause lies in Russia’s missile bombardment. Chairman Milley, who also participated in the press conference, strongly criticized Russia, saying, "It appears that at least 60 missiles were launched the day before, and possibly 90 or even more than 100 missiles were fired."

Secretary Austin said, "We will maintain momentum throughout the winter so that Ukraine can continue to strengthen its gains and take the lead on the battlefield," and "We will not tolerate Putin’s imperialist aggression and violation of international norms."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.