From the Telegraph
about the missile that landed in z Poland and killed two people.
Warsaw said evidence so far suggests it was a self-destruct system that failed to work properly, not a Russian missile as initially feared
By
Matthew Day
WARSAW and
Nick Squires
ROME
17 November 2022 • 11:11am
The Ukrainian missile that killed two farmworkers when it landed in Poland malfunctioned and failed to self-destruct after missing its initial target, the Polish authorities said on Thursday.
The incident, which took place on Tuesday near the Polish village of Przewodow which lies close to the Ukrainian border, is now the subject of a criminal investigation in Poland.
In an interview for the Polish news channel TVN24, Jakub Kumoch, the foreign policy advisor to the Polish president, said that evidence suggests that the deaths resulted from a tragic accident caused by an errant missile
“Today there are many indications that a missile used to shoot down Russian missiles missed its target and then the self-destruct system failed to work and this, unfortunately, led to tragedy,” said Mr Kumoch.
The missile was likely launched from an aging S-300 air defence system that was targeting Russian rockets.
Mr Kumoch added that the investigators had film footage of the incident in which “just for a very short time you can see a certain sequence of events.”
Mr Kumoch said he could not elaborate further because the film’s contents were classified.
Polish soldiers pass by the police check point next to site where a missile strike killed two men in the eastern Poland village of Przewodow
^It comes after US intelligence sources said that it was a Ukrainian, and not a Russian missile as initially feared, that crashed into the field.*
The Ukrainian government has denied that conclusion, insisting a Russian missile was responsible
Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Rishi Sunak noted it is possible the explosion, which killed two people, was caused by Ukrainian munition deployed in self-defence, but said Kyiv could not be blamed for trying to defend itself.
"Russia launched over 80 separate missile strikes on Ukraine," the prime minister said. "The targets were innocent people and civilian infrastructure. The aim was to cast the population into darkness and cold."
"During the bombardment of Ukraine on Tuesday an explosion took place in eastern Poland," he added.
"As we've heard the Polish and American presidents say, it is possible the explosion was caused by Ukrainian munition which was deployed in self-defence - and whether or not this proves to be the case, no blame can be placed on a country trying to defend itself against such a barrage.
The blame belongs solely to Russia."
Poland has also been keen to stress that although a Ukrainian missile may have been responsible for the death of the two Poles it does not hold Ukraine responsible.
“There is a misunderstanding; some people in Ukraine feel that their country has somehow been accused,” said Mr Kumuch. “But it hasn’t been, it was just involved in an incident, and it is not Ukraine’s fault. No one denies the right for Ukraine to defend itself.
As part of concerted and extensive efforts to avoid any friction in Polish-Ukrainian relations, the Polish government has said that it has no objection to Ukrainians joining an investigation into the blast that already has an American presence.
The two Polish farmworkers who were killed by the missile were employed by an Italian agribusiness, it emerged on Thursday, with the company saying it was "in shock" at their deaths.
Bogdan Wos and Bogdan Ciupek worked for Agrocom and were harvesting maize when they were killed by the missile.
"What happened has left us in shock. They were very loyal employees. They each leave behind two children," said Federico Viola, an Italian businessman who founded the company more than two decades ago. It produces maize, grains and other agricultural products in Poland.
He said the company knew the workers as "Bogdan the first" and "Bogdan the second", so named for the order in which they started working for the firm.
"We never thought such a thing could happen but it did, and who knows if it might happen again, " he added.