Ukrainian Missile Malfunctioned Mid-Air, Led to 'Tragedy': Polish Official

The believed Ukrainian missile that landed inside Poland's border on Tuesday and killed two people may have malfunctioned prior to the deadly and likely accidental strike, according to a Polish official.

The news of the missile strike in Poland immediately sparked fears that the Russia-Ukraine war could escalate, particularly if Russia had launched the rocket, since it would have been the first time that the conflict directly impacted a NATO member state.

In the aftermath of the deadly incident, Western and NATO leaders have said that they believe the missile was actually fired by Ukraine as it defended itself from a barrage of Russian missile strikes.

Russia has denied that it had anything to do with the missile that hit Poland, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has doubled down on his assertions that Ukraine did not fire the rocket at the center of the dispute.

Jakub Kumoch, head of the Polish president's International Policy Bureau, told the Polish TVN24 channel that there are "many indications that one of the [Ukrainian] missiles used to shoot down a Russian missile missed the target."

"Its self-destruct system did not work, and this missile unfortunately led to a tragedy," Kumoch said.

He explained that a team of investigators had examined remnants of the missile and the depth of the crater it carved out, and have gauged the direction it came from and the amount of fuel it used, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Even while stating that Russia probably did not launch the missile, NATO and Western officials have said that Russia was still ultimately to blame for what happened since it was attacking Ukraine and triggering the country's air defenses to begin with.

Kumoch again stressed while speaking to TVN24 that "no one accuses Ukraine of deliberately hitting Polish territory" since "Russia bombed Ukraine that day."

Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday that the missile was likely an "old" Soviet-made S-300 rocket.

The S-300 is a family of Russian-made surface-to-air missile systems that are "capable of engaging aircraft and UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] in addition to providing some cruise and ballistic missile defense capability," according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies' missile threat site.

Reports indicate that both Ukraine and Russia have used S-300 missiles in the course of the war.

In July, iNews reported that Russia was using Soviet-era S-300 missiles for strikes against land-based targets in Ukraine.

Newsweek reached out to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry for comment.