Belarus claims Ukrainian missile fell on its territory

The Belarusian presidency on Thursday denounced the fall of a Ukrainian S-300 anti-aircraft missile on its territory during the massive Russian bombardment of Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. 

"Today, between 10:00 and 11:00 local time (07:00-08:00 GMT), a Ukrainian S-300 missile was detected falling on the territory of Belarus from the territory of Ukraine," Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's press service said. 

According to the Belarusian authorities, who are actively involved in the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, "the president was immediately informed of the Ukrainian missile's downing". "On his orders, a group of military personnel and investigators are working at the scene," it added. 

The Belarusian defence ministry later acknowledged on its Telegram channel that its anti-aircraft batteries shot down the Ukrainian missile after it entered Belarusian airspace. Minsk added that "at the moment there are no reports of casualties". 

On 16 November, a Ukrainian missile veered off course and killed two people in a Polish town near the Ukrainian border. Poland called an emergency meeting with its Atlantic Alliance allies after Warsaw indicated that it was a "Russian-made missile" attack in the village of Przewodów. 

Warsaw initially feared that it might have been a Russian military attack, but NATO later cleared Moscow of responsibility for the incident.