London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Aug 13, 2025

Belarus blames Ukraine for downed missile, Kyiv suggests Russian ‘provocation’

Belarus blames Ukraine for downed missile, Kyiv suggests Russian ‘provocation’

Minsk summoned Kyiv’s ambassador over the incident, which happened amid a major Russian assault on Ukraine.

Belarus summoned Ukraine’s ambassador Thursday after Minsk said it had downed a Ukrainian missile that had strayed over the border. Meanwhile Kyiv said it suspected Russia of creating a “deliberate provocation” amid the ongoing war.

The defense ministry in Belarus said an S-300 air defense missile was shot down over the village of Gorbakha in the Brest region north of Ukraine. Debris was found in an agricultural field near the village.

“The wreckage belongs to the S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile launched from the territory of Ukraine,” the Belarusian ministry said.

The foreign ministry also demanded that Ukraine conduct a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding the missile launch, calling for those responsible to be brought to justice, as well as for measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“This can lead to catastrophic consequences for everyone,” said Anatoly Glaz, a spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, according to Radio Liberty.

The missile report came amid a massive Russian assault against Ukraine on Thursday, with 69 missiles fired, causing casualties and blackouts throughout the country. Ukrainian air defense units successfully shot down 54 of the missiles. 

The Ukrainian defense ministry neither confirmed nor denied Belarusian reports, but said it suspected a “provocation” by Moscow.

“Ukraine is aware of the Kremlin’s desperate and persistent efforts to involve Belarus in its aggressive war against Ukraine,” the ministry said in a statement.

“In this regard, the Ukrainian side does not rule out a deliberate provocation by the terrorist state of Russia, which laid such a route for its cruise missiles to provoke their interception in the airspace over the territory of Belarus.”

It added that Ukraine was nonetheless prepared to conduct an investigation into what happened.

“Ukraine is ready to invite authoritative experts from among the states that are not associated with supporting the terrorist state of Russia in any form to participate in such an investigation,” the Ukrainian defense ministry said.

Since the beginning of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, Belarus has been providing its territory and military bases for Russia’s use in staging attacks on Ukraine.


Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko

During a Belarusian defense council meeting in October, leader Alexander Lukashenko admitted his country had been taking part in Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, he added that Belarusians aren’t killing anyone there.

“We are participating to prevent the spread of this conflict to the territory of Belarus, firstly. Secondly, to prevent an attack on Belarus under the guise of a special military operation by Poland, Lithuania and Latvia,” Lukashenko said. “Nobody will shoot Russians in the back from Belarus. This is our participation.”

Experts, including from the U.S.-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War, have said it is extraordinarily unlikely that Belarus could invade Ukraine in the foreseeable future. Regardless, the Kremlin continues to use this as a threat in the information war against Ukraine.

“Belarusian intervention in Ukraine, moreover, would not be able to do more than draw Ukrainian ground forces away from other parts of the theater temporarily given the extremely limited effective combat power at Minsk’s disposal,” the think tank wrote in an assessment earlier this month.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Oasis Reunion Tour Linked to Temporary Rise in UK Inflation
Musk Alleges Apple Favors OpenAI in App Store Rankings
Denmark Revives EU ‘Chat Control’ Proposal for Encrypted Message Scanning
US Teen Pilot Reaches Deal to Leave Chile After Unauthorized Antarctic Landing
Trump considers lawsuit against Powell over Fed renovation costs
Trump Criticizes Goldman Sachs Over Tariff Cost Forecasts
Perplexity makes unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer for Google’s Chrome browser
Kodak warns of liquidity crisis as debt obligations loom
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album on Travis Kelce’s podcast after high-profile year together
South Korean court orders arrest of former First Lady Kim Keon Hee on bribery and corruption allegations
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
JD Vance to meet Tory MP Robert Jenrick and Reform’s Nigel Farage on UK visit
Trump and Putin Meeting: Focus on Listening and Communication
Instagram Released a New Feature – and Sent Users Into a Panic
China Accuses: Nvidia Chips Are U.S. Espionage Tools
Mercedes’ CEO Is Killing Germany’s Auto Legacy
Trump Proposes Land Concessions to End Ukraine War
New Road Safety Measures Proposed in the UK: Focus on Eye Tests and Stricter Drink-Driving Limits
Viktor Orbán Criticizes EU's Financial Support for Ukraine Amid Economic Concerns
South Korea's Military Shrinks by 20% Amid Declining Birthrate
US Postal Service Targets Unregulated Vape Distributors in Crackdown
Duluth International Airport Running on Tech Older Than Your Grandmother's Vinyl Player
RFK Jr. Announces HHS Investigation into Big Pharma Incentives to Doctors
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Security flaws in a carmaker’s web portal let one hacker remotely unlock cars from anywhere
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
×