Belarus claims it shot down a Ukrainian air defense missile on its soil and has summoned the Ukrainian ambassador.
It took place on Thursday, during one of Russia’s most ferocious aviation assaults on Ukraine to yet.
State television footage from Belarus appeared to show missile debris in a field.
The event, according to a military spokeswoman for Ukraine, was “the outcome of air defense.”
Belarus, a significant supporter of Russia, has urged Kyiv to conduct a thorough investigation into how the S-300 rocket ended up so close to the border.
According to Kirill Kazantsev, an official with the Belarusian missile defense forces, they are thinking about two possibilities.
“The first is an accidental launch [by Ukraine] of the air defence missile because of the low training level of the military crew or missile malfunction. The second is a deliberate provocation by the Ukrainian military forces.”
Since the Russian incursion in February, Belarus has never before shot down a missile intended for Ukraine.
The Minsk foreign ministry summoned the Ukrainian ambassador.
Belarusian spokesperson Anatoly Glaz informed the news agency Reuters that “the Belarusian side regards this situation as quite serious.”
To “take thorough measures to prevent the repetition of such occurrences in the future,” he urged Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin expressed its deep worry about the event.
Inviting experts from nations that do not support “the terrorist state of Russia” to assist with the investigation into the incident, the Ukrainian defense ministry said it was prepared to do so. It also reserved “the unequivocal right to the defence and security of its own skies.”
It declared that it had not ruled out the possibility of a “deliberate provocation” in which Moscow fired its cruise missiles over Belarusian territory in order for them to be shot down.
The missile reportedly fell close to the town of Harbacha in the Brest region, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Ukrainian border, according to Belarus.
“Our windows were shaking and the house was trembling from what must have been a sound wave,” a witness told Radio Free Europe.
Oleg Konovalov, the military commissar for the Brest area, tried to minimize the situation.
In a video that was shared on social media, he remarked, “Unfortunately, these things happen.
He linked it to an incident that occurred in Poland last month when a missile crashed, killing two people. The air defenses of Kyiv were “most certainly” to fault, according to Nato commander Jens Stoltenberg, but Ukraine rejected this.
Because of their strong relations, Belarus permitted Russia to launch its invasion of Ukraine from its soil in February.
Russia may be considering launching a new invasion from Belarus around the beginning of 2023, according to recent claims made by Ukrainian officials. Tens of thousands of reservists being trained in Russia could be involved in the drive, which they claimed could include a second attempt to take control of Kyiv, the nation’s capital.
The Ukraine’s spy director, however, rejected Russian efforts in Belarus, including the transfer of thousands of troops, in an interview with the BBC this week, as attempts to force Ukraine to relocate troops from the battlefields in the south and east to the north.
In the meantime, the Ukrainian air force claims to have downed 16 Russian-fired drones of Iranian manufacture.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, claimed that seven of the drones were flying toward the city but that air defense forces shot all of them down, however several buildings were damaged by flying debris.
The majority of Ukraine’s regions now have power after it was cut off on Thursday after a massive wave of missile attacks.
Numerous missiles were launched by Moscow towards cities around the nation, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Odesa.
The situation in the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine is still challenging, according to Ukrenergo, the country’s energy operator, as a result of persistent Russian attacks.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has issued a warning that additional attacks may be forthcoming and claimed that Russia wants Ukrainians to ring in the new year in darkness.
