There is increasing evidence that the missile detonated in Poland was launched by Ukraine. The investigations focus on the S-300 developed in the 1970s. The missile system is considered one of the most powerful anti-aircraft weapons.
At the same time as massive Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, a rocket hit the Polish border area on Tuesday. Two people died in the village of Przewodow. Moscow quickly came under suspicion. But now there is growing evidence that the missile was fired from Ukrainian territory. According to a report by the broadcaster CNN, the radar of a US surveillance aircraft is said to have recorded the trajectory of the missile. Poland's President Andrzej Duda said it was "highly likely" that the missile was launched by Ukraine. "Absolutely nothing indicates that it was a deliberate attack on Poland." NATO also agreed with this assessment.
The focus of the investigations is currently a 5V55 anti-aircraft missile, which is used, among other things, by the S-300 anti-aircraft system. The 5V55 series rockets are 7.25 meters long and 0.51 meters in diameter. They use high-explosive fragmentation warheads triggered by proximity and impact fuses to destroy their targets. Depending on the model, the range is between 47 and 75 kilometers, which also speaks for a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile.
"Russia is far too far away," said military historian Markus Reisner in an interview with ntv.de. "Since the impact site is eight kilometers from the Polish-Ukrainian border, the missile should have been fired in western Ukraine." According to Reisner, the impact can be seen in connection with a Russian air raid on an object near the Polish border. "This object was protected by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses and one of these missiles apparently deviated from the intercept course."
The S-300 is considered one of the most powerful anti-aircraft weapons. The truck-mounted missile system was developed by Russian armaments manufacturer NPO during Soviet times and entered service in 1978. It is mainly used to defend against air attacks and cruise missiles. Russia also uses the S-300 in Ukraine to combat ground targets. The system has been continuously improved over the years. Today there are a multitude of variants, some of which can also be effective against short-range missiles. The currently most modern development is the S-400, which has been in service with the Russian armed forces since 2007.
The S-300 is mainly used by countries in Asia and Eastern Europe. In addition to the NATO countries Bulgaria and Greece, Ukraine also uses the weapon. In 2016, Russia delivered the system to Iran. In Ukraine, it is often used for air defense of large industrial and administrative facilities, military bases and airspace control against enemy attack aircraft.
There are now more than 20 different missile types for the S-300. These vary in explosive power and precision. The system can use rockets weighing up to 150 kilograms. High-performance versions of the S-300 can repel incoming targets within a radius of 200 kilometers. The targets are located by a mobile radar station.
Even if the rocket detonated in Poland came from Ukraine, Kyiv is not to blame, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Rather, Russia bears the “ultimate responsibility”. The incident is a direct result of the ongoing war against Ukraine and the "massive wave" of rocket attacks on civilian targets. "Russia must end this senseless war," Stoltenberg demanded. According to Stoltenberg, the incident generally shows that the Russian war of aggression creates "dangerous situations".
