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Ukraine's power crisis and the Przewodów missile aftermath
Summary
A look back at the situation on 19 November 2022, as the effects of Russian missile strikes and a deadly blast in eastern Poland were still unfolding.
What did Ukraine and its neighbours face on 19 November 2022? Two linked problems dominated: a deepening electricity crisis inside Ukraine, and the aftermath of a missile blast on Polish soil.
On 18 November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian missile strikes had left at least 10 million Ukrainians without electricity. The death toll from the previous day's strikes had risen to seven, with many more people injured. The strikes were part of the October–November 2022 wave of nationwide missile attacks on Ukraine.
The Przewodów blast
Four days earlier, on 15 November, a missile strike killed two people in the village of Przewodów in eastern Poland. U.S. officials had told the Associated Press that preliminary findings suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile. U.S. President Joe Biden then said the blast was caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile.
The incident was the first of a foreign missile hitting NATO territory during the Russian invasion, as background compiled later notes. Ukraine initially accused Russia of striking Poland. In September 2023, the Polish Prosecutor's Office later confirmed that the explosion was caused by an out-of-control Ukrainian S-300 air defence missile.
Two threads, one day
By 19 November 2022, the picture was therefore split. At home, Ukrainians were dealing with the effects of strikes on civilian infrastructure, including power cuts affecting millions. Abroad, the US assessment of the Polish blast had been stated publicly, and the deaths in Przewodów remained part of the wider story of the war's spillover risks.
