What the Przewodów blast revealed by 20 November 2022

What did the picture look like on 20 November 2022, five days after a missile killed two people in eastern Poland? Two linked strands stood out: the explosion at Przewodów and the continuing Russian strikes on Ukraine.

On 15 November 2022, a missile struck the village of Przewodów in eastern Poland and killed two people. U.S. officials told the Associated Press that preliminary findings suggested the missile had been fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, then said the blast was caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile.

The attribution mattered because, as background later made clear, Ukraine had initially accused Russia of striking Poland. The incident occurred during Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. It was the first time a foreign missile had hit NATO territory during the invasion. Poland's Prosecutor's Office later, in September 2023, confirmed that an out-of-control Ukrainian S-300 air defence missile had caused the explosion.

The pressure inside Ukraine

The strikes themselves continued. On 18 November 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian missile attacks had left at least 10 million Ukrainians without electricity. The death toll from the strikes of the previous day had risen to seven, with many more people injured.

Why it matters in retrospect

Taken together, the two strands show how the air war affected both Ukraine and its neighbour. Inside Ukraine, the missile campaign caused deaths and large-scale power loss. Beyond its border, a single stray air defence missile killed two people in Poland and raised questions over who was responsible. The early U.S. assessment, made public within days, set the account that was later confirmed.