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What happened at Przewodów on 15 November 2022?
Summary
A look back at the day a missile killed two people in eastern Poland, as Russian strikes hit energy facilities across Ukraine.
What did the missile that struck eastern Poland on 15 November 2022 mean for a war that had so far stayed on one side of the border? The blast in the village of Przewodów killed two people and quickly raised questions about who had fired it.
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the weapon was a Russian-made missile and summoned the Russian ambassador to provide an explanation. The wording described where the missile had been manufactured, and the ministry did not say who had launched it.
A different account from Washington
U.S. officials had earlier told the Associated Press that preliminary findings suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile. President of the United States Joe Biden then said the blast was caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile. As reported at the time, Ukraine had initially accused Russia of striking Poland.
The wider attack
The incident came during a wave of Russian missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities, Kyiv among them. The strikes caused "critical" damage to energy facilities, according to reports from that day.
What was established later
In September 2023, the Polish Prosecutor's Office later stated that the explosion was caused by an out-of-control Ukrainian S-300 air defence missile. That confirmed the assessment given by U.S. officials on 15 November 2022. The incident was the first in which a foreign missile hit NATO territory during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Elsewhere in security news
On 14 November 2022, the day before, the United Kingdom announced it was withdrawing its troops from Mali. It cited "political instability" and the controversial relationship between the military junta led by Assimi Goïta and Russia's Wagner Group.
