Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kyleba called the attacks “senseless barbarism” on Twitter. Belarus is playing a more active role in the conflict with Ukraine as Putin’s troops undertake “intensive combat training” in the country which is now a close ally of Russia.
The country was also a key location for Putin to begin amassing troops ahead of the invasion in February and Russia now have the permission of the Belarusian President to attack Ukraine from its territory.
The connections between Russia and Belarus were strengthened when Putin sent in his troops to dispel political unrest during demonstrations in 2020 following the election of Lukashenko for his sixth term.
Now, Belarus has called upon the Ukrainian ambassador following claims that a Ukrainian missile landed in Belarus on Thursday as part of the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
It is claimed that a S-300 rocket, which is used by both Russia and Ukraine, was shot down by Belarus over Brest at approximately 7:00am GMT.
The region has previously claimed that the missile may have unintentionally veered off course.
The missile reportedly landed just nine miles from the Belarus-Ukraine border in the village of Harbacha.
No casualties have been reported from the downed missile.
Anatoly Glaz from the foreign ministry in Belarus said: “We have demanded that Ukraine carry out a thorough investigation in to all the circumstances of the missile launch, bring those responsible to justice and take comprehensive measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
“Which could lead to catastrophic consequences for everyone.”
Despite the warnings, an official from Belarus has attempted to dispel concerns following the missile landing.
Oleg Konovalov, the military commissar of the Brest region posted a video message saying: “Locals have absolutely nothing to worry about.
“Unfortunately, these things happen.”
He added that the incident was similar to one in November when an S-300 fired by Ukraine, was thought to have veered off course after it landed in Poland.
A Ukrainian spokesman for the military said that the missile which landed in Belarus was a stray and the incident was “nothing strange, a result of air defence” and something which “has happened more than once”.
Following an investigation of the downed missile, the Belarusian defence ministry stated that parts of the missile were “found in an agricultural field”.
Residential building destroyed by Russian missile in Ukraine
It added: “During the verification process, it was established that the wreckage belongs to an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile fired from the territory of Ukraine.”
The incident came just 10 days after the Russian President visited Belarus for talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The talks which saw the two leaders discuss the security of both nations sparked fears that Belarus would be directly engaging in the conflict.
Prior to the talks it was declared that Russia’s troops in Belarus would be conducting joint military exercises with Belarusian troops as part of a regional force.
