Russia Came ‘Within 500 Feet’ of Triggering NATO’s Article 5: Kinzinger

Moscow nearly triggered a collective response from NATO by firing a missile that reportedly struck close to a convoy transporting the Greek prime minister and Ukraine’s president, former U.S. representative Adam Kinzinger has said.

The Illinois Republican was responding to reports of the proximity of a Russian missile strike to Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Volodymr Zelensky on Wednesday when they met in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

Mitsotakis told reporters how he and his entourage had “heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us” adding that “we did not have time to get to a shelter.”

Zelensky said that Russia “[doesn’t] care where they strike” with Ukraine’s Navy saying that five people had been killed in the attack. There were differing accounts of how close the missile got to the leaders, with Greek media saying it was within 150 meters (500 feet), while CNN reported that it was 500 meters.

Zelensky often makes trips to the front lines but Wednesday’s attack may be one of the closest calls he has faced, especially given the strike’s proximity to Mitsotakis, the leader of a NATO state.

Kinzinger wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Russia just got within 150 meters of an article 5, with news of the strike in Odessa almost hitting the Greek Prime Minister,” referring to the NATO charter, which states that an attack on any of its 31 members is considered an attack on all and would prompt a response.

While the strike occurred in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, social media users noted that it was unclear whether Article 5 could be triggered by a NATO member’s presence in a war zone.

Newsweek has contacted NATO and the Russian defense ministry for comment.

The post by the Illinois Republican, who is an outspoken GOP critic of former President Donald Trump and his broader “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) political movement, had received over 750,000 views by Thursday morning.

Russian forces targeted port infrastructure in Odesa with an unspecified number of missiles during the leaders’ visit, the Institute for the Study of War said in its Wednesday update.

While pro-Kremlin military bloggers tied the missile strike with Zelensky’s visit to the city, it was not clear if the Ukrainian president or the Greek PM were the targets.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said Moscow’s forces had launched a high-precision missile strike at 11.40 a.m. Wednesday on a hangar in the port being used to prepare naval drones for operations.

“The target of the strike has been achieved. The object is hit,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement, without mentioning Zelensky or Mitsotakis.

Russia has increased drone strikes on the Odesa region over the last few days with an attack on an apartment block in the city last weekend killing 12 people, including five children, according to Ukrainian officials.