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When Europe's parliament labelled Russia a terror sponsor
Summary
A retrospective on 23 November 2022, when the European Parliament took a symbolic step as Patriot batteries were offered for Poland's border.
What did Europe's lawmakers want to say about Russia on 23 November 2022? The European Parliament designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, pointing to Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine. Those included critical infrastructure, hospitals, schools and bomb shelters.
The vote came as security on the Polish border was also in focus. On 22 November 2022, Germany said it would deploy Patriot surface-to-air missile systems on the Poland–Ukraine border to protect Polish airspace. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said he had accepted the German proposal.
The Przewodów backdrop
The offer followed the incident of 15 November 2022, when a missile struck the Polish village of Przewodów near the Ukrainian border and killed two people. It happened during Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. Ukraine initially accused Russia of striking Poland, while the United States said the missile was likely an air-defence missile fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile. Later, in September 2023, the Polish Prosecutor's Office stated that the explosion was caused by an out-of-control Ukrainian S-300 air-defence missile.
Two signals in two days
Taken together, the two announcements showed the European response on 22 and 23 November 2022 running on two tracks. One was political: a parliamentary statement condemning attacks on civilians. The other was practical: a German commitment of air-defence systems to guard a NATO member's airspace near the war.
The parliamentary designation rested on the strikes themselves, which the text cited as its grounds. The Patriot offer, accepted by Warsaw, was aimed at protecting Polish skies.
