London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 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
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
×