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What Poland's border air defence said about the war
Summary
A look back at how, by 28 November 2022, Europe was shaping its response to Russian strikes and to a missile incident on Polish soil.
What did Europe's political response to the war look like by 28 November 2022? Two decisions from the preceding week, one parliamentary and one military, gave an answer.
On 22 November 2022, Germany said it would deploy Patriot surface-to-air missile systems on the Poland–Ukraine border to protect Polish airspace. Poland's defence minister, Mariusz Błaszczak, said he had accepted the German proposal. The offer followed the explosion in the Polish village of Przewodów, near the Ukrainian border, on 15 November 2022, which killed two people.
At the time, Ukraine 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 confirmed that an out-of-control Ukrainian S-300 air defence missile had caused the blast. The incident came during Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
A parliamentary signal
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.
Two tracks, one theme
Taken together, the two steps show distinct approaches. One was practical: allied air defence placed on a NATO member's border to protect its airspace. The other was political: a formal condemnation of attacks on civilians in Ukraine. Both followed from the same pressure, Russia's continuing strikes and their consequences close to the alliance's frontier.
