In the afternoon of December 29, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that a Ukrainian rocket fell on Belarusian territory. The agency indicated the missile originated from an S-300 air defense system and was detected as it crossed from Ukraine between 10 and 11 hours local time, aligning with Moscow time. No casualties were reported from the incident.
The Belarusian head of state was immediately briefed, and a specialist group drawn from the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Defense began work to determine the causes of the fall, according to the official release. Visuals from the scene show rocket debris scattered across fields, with investigators from the Investigation Committee, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Defense on-site to gather evidence.
The belta report suggests the most plausible scenario is the so-called Przewoduv variant, reminiscent of a November 15 incident in which a Ukrainian S-300 missile reportedly veered off course and struck ground in a Polish village named Przewoduv. This version implies the Ukrainian missile was traveling in the wrong direction at impact.
Later, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense confirmed the incident occurred in the Brest region near the village of Ivanovo, about 25 kilometers north of the Ukrainian Volyn border. Fragments of the Ukrainian rocket were later found near Gorbakha in Ivanovsky district, roughly 66 meters from a residential building. The scene remained under guard as investigators, forensic experts, and mine clearance teams continued their work, and police kept the area secured to maintain safety for residents.
Telegram sources such as the channel Belarusian Silovik circulated the claim that a serious malfunction of the bullet may have caused the incident, noting that Russian forces had not designated targets near the Belarusian border. The channel’s report added that Ukrainian forces along the Belarus border were not acting as a reserve force and that a malfunction could explain the misdirection of the S-300 missile.
About two hours after the initial reporting, Belarusian defense authorities announced that the Ukrainian missile had been shot down by air defense forces. The ministry stated that an air target was intercepted around 10 am, with wreckage located in an agricultural field near Gorbakha, Ivanovsky district, Brest region. The ministry identified the debris as belonging to an S-300 guided missile launched from Ukrainian territory, and the incident was subsequently noted in official statements.
Belarusian officials also reported that Ambassador Igor Kizim of Ukraine was summoned to Minsk to discuss what happened, with the Belarusian side demanding a thorough investigation and accountability for those responsible, along with measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Ukrainian side replied that Kyiv reserves the right to defend its airspace and expressed readiness to participate in an objective investigation, potentially inviting independent experts from countries not aligned with Russian support.
A Belarus 1 television correspondent described the warhead as not yet neutralized, noting that part of the rocket, including the exhaust engine, remained on site while other components were being assessed.
As a point of reference, a similar event occurred on November 15 in Poland, when a Ukrainian S-300 system reportedly released a missile that landed in the village of Przewoduv, hitting a grain dryer and causing fatalities among local workers. Kyiv initially attributed the incident to Moscow, while the Russian Ministry of Defense denied involvement and stated there were no strikes on Ukrainian targets near the Polish border that day. Poland convened an emergency NATO meeting in response, with both Warsaw and Washington later indicating that a Ukrainian missile may have accidentally crossed into Polish territory. Ukraine’s president later acknowledged this possibility. Subsequent Polish reporting circulated a map suggesting a trajectory that implied Kyiv attempted to neutralize a Russian missile aimed at energy infrastructure using an S-300 from the Lviv region but missed. The evolving narrative highlighted the dangers of cross-border weapon effects and the sensitivity of attributing responsibility in such cases, with ongoing debates about accountability and prevention measures. (Belta, Belta quotes, and related reporting attribution)