In the afternoon of December 29, the Belarusian state news agency “Belta” reported about the fall of a Ukrainian rocket on the territory of the republic.
According to the agency, we are talking about a missile from the S-300 anti-aircraft complex, its arrival was recorded from the territory of Ukraine from 10 to 11 hours (it coincides with Moscow). No casualties were reported as a result of the bullet falling.
“The head of state was immediately informed of the incident. On his behalf, a group of experts from among the staff of the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Defense identifies the reasons for the fall, ”the message states.
In the photos released from the scene, it is seen that rocket parts fell on the field. At the moment, experts from the Investigation Committee, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense are working there.
The publication writes that the most likely version of what happened is the so-called “Przewoduv scenario” (similar to the fall of a Ukrainian missile from an S-300 in the Polish village of Przewoduv on November 15), that is, the rocket of a Ukrainian complex flew in the wrong direction.
Later, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic reported that the rocket fell in the Brest region, near the village of Ivanovo. It is located 25 kilometers north of the border with the Volyn region of Ukraine.
BelTA also explains that fragments of a Ukrainian rocket fell on the outskirts of the village of Gorbakha, in the republic’s Ivanovsky district, 66 meters from a residential building. Investigators, State Forensic Investigation Commission experts, Ministry of National Defense and mine clearance teams are working at the crime scene. The area was cordoned off by the police. The agency also states that people are being taken to a safe distance.
According to the Telegram channel “Belarusian Silovik”, which published the first photos from the scene of the accident, the reason for his arrival may be a serious malfunction of the bullet. The source of the channel noted that Russian troops did not set targets near the border with Belarus.
“Therefore, the Ukrainian troops on the borders of Belarus do not want to act as a reserve force, where Russian troops will grind them. In this case, we have reason to believe that the Ukrainian S-300 flew in the wrong direction due to a serious malfunction, ”the message states.
About two hours later, the Ministry of Defense of the republic reported that the Ukrainian missile was shot down by the air defense forces.
“An air target was hit by air defense forces at around 10 am today. Its fragments were found in an agricultural field near the village of Gorbakha, Brest region, Ivanovsky district. In the statement made by the ministry, it was determined that the wreckage belonged to the S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile launched from the territory of Ukraine.
BelTA, referring to Anatoly Glaz, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, reported that on the evening of December 29, Ambassador of Ukraine Igor Kizim was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. The Ukrainian diplomat was fiercely protested by the ministry for this “serious” incident.
The diplomat also said that the Belarusian side requested Kiev to investigate the incident.
“We demanded that Ukraine thoroughly investigate all circumstances surrounding the launch of this missile, hold those responsible to account, and take comprehensive measures to prevent the repetition of such incidents in the future, which could have disastrous consequences for everyone. said.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine responded to the request with a request to conduct an investigation.
“The Ukrainian side, while reserving the unconditional right to defend and protect its own airspace, is also ready to conduct an objective investigation in Ukraine regarding the incident that occurred on the territory of Belarus on December 29. To repel a major missile attack by Russia”.
The ministry also noted that Kiev is ready to invite authorized experts from countries that are not in any way associated with Russian support to participate in such an investigation.
The correspondent of the Belarus 1 television channel said that the warhead of the Ukrainian missile has not yet been neutralized.
“Behind my shoulders is one of the parts of the rocket – the running engine of the exhausted rocket. Here we see the so-called brains of the rocket and there a warhead that has not been deactivated yet.”
A similar incident occurred on the evening of November 15, when a bullet from the S-300 air defense system in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces fell on the Polish village of Przewoduv. The rocket crashed on a grain dryer, on which a tractor was located at that time. The incident killed two local farmers.
Immediately after the first reports of a missile crash in Poland, Kyiv blamed Moscow for what happened, saying the missile at Pszewoduv was Russian. The Russian Ministry of Defense denied any involvement in the incident and reported that no attacks were made on Ukrainian targets near the Polish border that day.
Poland called an emergency meeting of NATO partners. As a result, both Warsaw and Washington reported that a possibly Ukrainian missile accidentally flew into the territory of a neighboring country. Later, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky joined this version.
A few days later, Polish media published a map with the alleged trajectory of the missile. According to these data, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to shoot down a Russian missile flying at an energy infrastructure facility with the help of an S-300 deployed in the Lviv region and missed.