A view shows an ammunition fragment, which Belarus’ Defense Ministry said was part of a Ukrainian S-300 missile found by Belarus’ air defense forces outside Harbacha village in Belarus’ Grodno region December 29, 2022 was killed. , Photo Credit: Reuters
Belarus protested on Thursday to Ukraine’s ambassador, saying it shot down Ukraine’s S-300 air defense missile in a field. Russia’s heaviest air strike against Ukraine since the beginning of war in February.
Oleg Konovalov, the military commissar of the Brest region, downplayed the incident in a video posted on social media by the state-run Belta news agency, saying that locals had “absolutely nothing to worry about”. Unfortunately, these things happen”.
He compared the incident to one in November, when an S-300 is believed to have gone astray after being fired upon by Ukrainian air defense over NATO-member Poland’s territory, sparking fears of an escalation that could was over quickly.
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Minsk to receive a formal protest.
“The Belarusian side takes this incident very seriously,” said spokesman Anatoly Glaz.
“We demanded that the Ukrainian side conduct a thorough investigation, … hold those responsible to account, and take comprehensive measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.”
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it was ready to invite official experts from countries that do not support the “terrorist state of Russia” to participate in the investigation of the incident, which it said would The result of the repulsion of a “savage” Russian missile attack. civilian target.
“The Ukrainian side, while reserving its unconditional right to defend and protect its own skies, is ready to conduct an impartial investigation in Ukraine at the same time,” the ministry said in a statement.
It said it did not rule out a “deliberate provocation” in which Russia launched its cruise missiles on a path where they would be intercepted over Belarusian territory.
A Ukrainian military spokesman also admitted in effect that the missile was a Ukrainian stray, saying the incident was “nothing strange, a result of air defense” and something that “has happened more than once”.
The S-300 is a Soviet-era air defense system used by both Russia and Ukraine.
Belarus said the missile was downed at around 10 a.m. (0700 GMT) near the village of Harbacha in the Brest region, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry of Belarus said, “Wreckage was found in an agricultural field … the debris is from an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile fired from the territory of Ukraine.”
The missile went astray as Russia was launching its latest wave of missile attacks on cities across Ukraine, in which the Defense Ministry said more than 18 residential buildings and 10 critical infrastructure targets were destroyed in 10 regions.
BelTA published photos and videos of what it said were parts of the S-300 missile lying in an empty field.
Belarus allowed Moscow to use its territory in February to launch an invasion of Ukraine, and Russian and Belarusian military activity in Belarus has increased in recent months.
However, Minsk has insisted that it is not participating in the war, and will not participate unless its own security is threatened by Ukraine or Ukraine’s Western allies.