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Parliament's terrorism label and Patriots for Poland
Summary
A look back at two decisions that shaped Europe's response to the war in Ukraine in late November 2022.
What did Europe do about the war on 23 November 2022? Two decisions, one made a day earlier and one on the day itself, showed how the continent was responding to Russian strikes on Ukraine.
On 23 November 2022, 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.
Patriots on the border
The day before, 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 offer followed an incident on 15 November 2022, when a missile struck Polish territory in the village of Przewodów, near the border with Ukraine, killing two people. It came 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. In September 2023, the Polish Prosecutor's Office later stated that the blast was caused by an out-of-control Ukrainian S-300 air-defence missile.
Two signals
Taken together, the two announcements pointed in different directions. One was a political statement from the European Parliament, which named the strikes on civilian sites as the grounds for its designation. The other was a practical step: air-defence systems placed to cover Poland's airspace, offered by Germany and accepted by Warsaw.
