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European Parliament labels Russia a terrorism sponsor
Summary
A retrospective on 23 November 2022, when MEPs took a formal step against Moscow as Germany's Patriot offer to Poland followed a deadly missile blast.
What did the European Parliament decide on 23 November 2022, and how did it fit with the security alarm along Poland's border with Ukraine?
On that date, the European Parliament designated Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. It cited Russian military strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, including critical infrastructure, hospitals, schools and bomb shelters.
A border still on edge
The vote came a day after Germany said it would deploy Patriot surface-to-air missile systems on the Poland–Ukraine border to protect Polish airspace, as reported on 22 November 2022. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said he had accepted the German proposal.
The offer followed the explosion on 15 November 2022 in the village of Przewodów, near the border with Ukraine, in which two people were killed. The blast occurred 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.
That assessment was later confirmed. 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 developments showed European institutions and governments responding on separate tracks. The Parliament's designation addressed Russia's strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine. The German offer addressed the protection of Polish airspace.
