The Belarus Ministry of Defense has reported that a Ukrainian missile from an S-300 air-defense system was intercepted in Belarusian airspace and landed in Brest earlier today, prompting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon Ukraine’s ambassador in protest.
According to Belarus state media outlet BelTa, the incident occurred between 10:00 and 11:00 A.M. local time, which corresponded with Russian drone and missile attacks against Kyiv and western Ukraine. So far there have been no indications of casualties. Photos of the wreckage being circulated by Belarusian authorities and media clearly show components from a 5V55-series missile of the S-300.
The Ministry of Defense of Belarus states that the Belarusian air defense shot down S-300 missile.
They said that today, December 29, at around 10:00, the air defense forces hit an air target.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/BzaP7DGpkx— Belarusian Hajun project (@MotolkoHelp) December 29, 2022
This latest incident comes over a month after a Ukrainian S-300 missile landed in the Polish village of Przewodów, which killed two people. Like today, the November 15 missile strike came amid a massive wave of Russian strikes targeting western Ukraine. It has been widely concluded by NATO officials that the incident was purely accidental and that the missile was deployed to intercept Russian strikes, but missed its target and kept flying, eventually landing in Poland. Ukrainian officials have denied that the missile was theirs. Errant missile strikes caused by S-200 and S-300 systems are quite common, such as during the Ukraine War and more notably in Syria.
So what crashed in the village of Przewodów, Poland today?
With the cooperation of @blueboy1969 we analyzed the available photos of fragments and came to a clear conclusion that they belong to the 48D6 motor of the 5V55-series missile of the S-300 AD system- a Ukrainian one. pic.twitter.com/f0Ex3USLN8
— ?? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) November 15, 2022
So far, Ukraine has not commented on the Belarus strike, but will likely deny involvement. The incident, however, has raised fears of Belarus using it as a pretext for increased military support for Russia and potential direct involvement in the invasion. Currently, Russian and Belarusian military forces have been carrying out large scale exercises along the border of Ukraine, raising the prospect of another northern front against Kyiv.