Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it was ready to investigate the incident in Belarus on Dec. 29 involving an S-300 surface-to-air missile allegedly entering the country’s airspace.
Such an investigation can involve experts from countries that do not provide support to Russia in any form, the ministry said.
The Belarusian authorities called it a Ukrainian missile and summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to the Foreign Ministry in Minsk to file a formal protest.
In response to the accusations, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said that Ukraine is well aware of the Russian attempts to get Belarus involved in the war against Ukraine.
“Ukraine is not ruling out a deliberate provocation by the terrorist state of Russia, which might have programmed a route for its cruise missiles to provoke their interception in the airspace of Belarus,” the statement reads.
The missile fell near the village of Gorbakha in Belarus' Brest Oblast.
The incident allegedly happened during one of Russia’s heaviest attacks on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. According to the Defense Ministry, Russia launched 69 missiles and 11 drones at Ukraine, injuring people and damaging 18 residential buildings and 10 infrastructure sites.
Belarus has participated in Russia's aggression by allowing Russia to use its territory for attacks against Ukraine. However, Belarusian troops have not been sent to Ukraine yet.