US will "work closely" with Poland and others to gather more

information on Tuesday's strike, official says

From CNN's Oren Liebermann

The US will “continue to work closely” with Poland and other allies to “gather more
information” about the deadly explosion that occurred in Poland yesterday, killing two
people, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during opening remarks ahead of the
seventh meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group Wednesday.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group is designed to coordinate support for Ukraine from
foreign allies around the world. This is the group’s seventh meeting. Austin and
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley are hosting this meeting virtually
from the Pentagon.

Austin highlighted Russia's strikes across Ukraine earlier on Tuesday before reports of
a strike in Poland emerged.

Russia is putting “civilians and civilian infrastructure in its gun sights,” Austin said. He
reaffirmed that Russia’s targeting of civilians and their continued missile strikes “only
deepen the resolve of the contact group,” and “only intensify Ukraine’s determination,”
in his opening remarks.

“The Kremlin may hope that more bombardment will break the resolve of the Ukrainian
people, but ordinary Ukrainian citizens have responded with the magnificent defiance
that the world now knows so well,” Austin added.