Russia's key ally Belarus said Thursday, Dec. 29, its air defense shot down a missile launched from Ukrainian territory, in the first such incident reported by Minsk since the start of Moscow's Ukraine offensive.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
The Belarus defense ministry said a missile was shot down around 10:00 am local time (0700 GMT), with its debris discovered in a village in the western Brest region that borders Ukraine and Poland.
"It was preliminarily established that the fragments belonged to an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile launched from the territory of Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko "was immediately informed" of the incident, a Telegram channel close to the presidency said earlier.
There was no information yet about possible injuries or casualties.
In November, a missile landed in a village in NATO member Poland and killed two people, also sparking concern the US-led alliance would be drawn into the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia denies having fired the missile, while Warsaw said it was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile launched to intercept Russian attacks.
Russia has used Belarus as a launching pad for its Ukraine offensive.
In October, Belarus said it was establishing a joint regional force with Moscow, with several thousand Russian servicemen arriving in the ex-Soviet country.
EXPLAINED: What We Know About Russia’s Oreshnik Missile Fired on Ukraine
The move has fuelled concern Minsk could also send troops to Ukraine.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
