The Polish Minister of Justice has disclosed a tragic incident involving a missile that struck the village of Przewodow in November 2022, claiming the lives of two Ukrainian individuals. He has voiced strong criticism against Kyiv for its lack of cooperation in the ensuing investigation, according to reports by AFP.
“Polish investigators have concluded their exhaustive inquiry, confirming that the missile responsible for the Przewodow incident was manufactured during the era of the Soviet Union and was in possession of the Ukrainian military. This determination is rooted in the precise origin of the missile’s launch site,” stated the Polish Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, on September 28th.
Minister Ziobro also expressed his regret regarding the persistent absence of cooperation from Ukraine over the span of several months, underlining that the decision to not collaborate with Poland was made by Ukraine’s highest political leadership.
As of now, Ukrainian authorities have not issued an official response to these revelations.
Polish authorities made their announcement on November 15, 2022, confirming that a missile had impacted the village of Przewodow in the southeastern region of the country, situated near the Ukraine border. This incident tragically resulted in the loss of two civilian lives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky swiftly pointed fingers at “missiles launched by Russian forces targeting Poland,” characterizing it as an infringement on “NATO territory and collective security commitments.”
Russia promptly refuted any involvement, disputing the assertion that the missile in question was a surface-to-air missile belonging to Ukraine’s S-300 system.
According to AFP, both NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Polish President Andrzej Duda at that time entertained the possibility that the incident might have been caused by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile. Stoltenberg posited that the missile launch may have been in response to a Russian cruise missile attack. U.S. President Joe Biden also opined that it was “unlikely the missile originated from Russia.”
Notwithstanding these assessments from the United States and its allies, President Zelensky steadfastly maintained that the missile in question did not originate from Ukraine.