Despite a lack of cooperation from Ukraine, Polish investigators have established beyond a doubt that the missile that fell on Polish territory on Nov. 15, 2022, killing two farm workers, was Ukrainian and not from Russia.
The prosecutors remain tight-lipped, according to daily Rzeczpospolita, saying they cannot reveal the details of the investigation. They only revealed that they have asked Ukraine for assistance with more information and that the investigation in Poland itself was now complete.
The details the newspaper obtained indicate that the missile was a Russian-made, S-300-type object used by Ukrainian air defenses.
On Nov. 15, last year, during a Russian missile assault on western Ukraine, the Ukrainian side used air defense missiles to intercept the attacks. One of these missiles, which are meant to self-destruct if they do not hit their targets, failed to do so and ended up flying into Poland.
The investigators are certain that the missile was not fired by Russia or Belarus, as Russian positions were farther away from the impact location than the range of the S-300 rockets.
The Ukrainian authorities had originally promised full cooperation in order to “inform about the possibility of Russian involvement,” but this assistance never materialized. The investigators said that in order to complete the investigation, Ukraine will need to answer some questions.
The incident, which resulted in the death of two civilians, caused a major stir last year, as it was immediately assumed that this may have been a Russian attack. However, from the outset, the U.S. seemed to know that it was unlikely the rocket had been fired by the Russians.
Poland’s authorities also tried to calm the situation by acknowledging that the most likely explanation was that a Ukrainian air defense missile had strayed into Poland and that it was an unfortunate accident.
At first, President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed the Russians, but later, after interventions from U.S. politicians, he softened his stance. It was also revealed that a NATO plane surveying Polish airspace had tracked the missile.
To this day, Ukraine has not acknowledged any responsibility for the incident. Until now, Poland’s authorities have been reluctant to reveal much information about the matter.
