Belarus summoned the ambassador of Ukraine in Minsk to protest against the landing of a Ukrainian missile into its territory on Thursday.

A Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile had come down near the village of Harbacha in the Brest region, some 15 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, at around 10 a.m., according to Belarus, which also said it had shot down the missile.

"Fragments were found in an agricultural field ... the wreckage belongs to an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile fired from the territory of Ukraine," the Defense Ministry of Belarus said.

The Belarusian side viewed the incident as "extremely serious," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anatoly Glaz. 

"We demanded that the Ukrainian side conduct a thorough investigation, ... hold those responsible to account and take comprehensive measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future."

Ukraine's Defense Ministry said it was ready to participate in an investigation of the incident, which it said resulted from the repulsion of a "barbaric" Russian missile attack that hit civilian targets.

"The Ukrainian side, reserving the unconditional right to the defense and protection of its own sky, at the same time is ready to conduct an objective investigation in Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement.


A Ukrainian military spokesman also in effect acknowledged that the missile was a Ukrainian stray, saying the incident was "nothing strange, a result of air defense" and something that "has happened more than once."

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was reported to have been briefed about the incident and instructed a task force to investigate on the spot.

Belarusian military commissar of the Brest region, Oleg Konovalov, played the incident down in a video posted on social media by the BelTA news agency, saying locals had "absolutely nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, these things happen."

He compared the incident to one in November, when an S-300 was believed to have strayed after being fired by Ukrainian air defenses landed on the territory of NATO-member Poland, triggering fears of an escalation that were rapidly defused.

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(With input from Reuters)