Belarus: 'Unlikely' downed Ukrainian missile entered airspace by accident

The Belarusian government has accused Ukraine of “provoking a regional conflict,” saying it was “unlikely” that a Ukrainian air defense missile downed on Thursday had entered Belarusian airspace by accident.

In an interview with the Russian state-owned outlet Sputnik Belarus on Friday, the Secretary of Belarus' Security Council Alexander Volfovich said that “Kiev is striving to provoke a regional conflict by any means. An example of this is the recent incident with the destruction of the Ukrainian S-300 missile.”

“There is little reason to believe that it entered our airspace by accident. By all appearances, it seems some plan was being realized here,” he said.

The scathing remarks came after Belarus' defense ministry said on Thursday that its air defense forces had shot down a Ukrainian S-300 surface-to-air missile near the village of Harbacha in the Brest region, near the Belarus-Ukraine border.

“Parts of the missile found in an agricultural field belong to an S-300 guided missile fired from Ukrainian territory,” the ministry said.

Accordingly, the foreign ministry in Minsk summoned the Ukrainian ambassador on Thursday to express a formal protest about the “extremely serious” incident.

However, Ukraine's defense ministry laid the responsibility on the Russian door and claimed that it was a Russian provocation, in which Kiev reserved the right to protect its own skies.

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Russia

Russia ‘extremely concerned’ over downing of Ukrainian missile

In Moscow's first public comment on the incident, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that the incident was of grave concern to Russia and its close ally Belarus.

“This is an incident that causes extreme concern, not only for us but for our Belarusian partners,” Peskov said.

Peskov also highlighted the close military ties between the two countries, saying they were in “constant dialogue and constant coordination.”

Back in February, Minsk allowed Moscow to use its territory as a base for Russian troops and equipment at the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

There has also been a growing flurry of Russian and Belarusian military activity in Belarus in recent months. However, Minsk has emphasized that it will not participate in the war in Ukraine as long as its security is not threatened by Kiev or its Western allies.

Russia's war on Ukraine started in late February, with Moscow saying that it was aimed at defending the pro-Russia population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against alleged persecution by Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time that the offensive was meant to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

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