Poland’s RMF24 reported in late October that “Ukrainians have completely paralyzed the investigation into the rocket explosion in Przewodów”, where a missile from Ukrainian airspace killed two Poles in November 2022, which Ukraine blamed on Russia while Russia blamed it on Ukrainian air defenses. According to the outlet, “the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office has failed to respond to any of the Polish investigators’ requests and has failed to respond to any reminders.” Poland won’t drop the case, though.
Per RMF24, the Polish prosecutor’s office believes that Ukraine was indeed responsible, yet they also believe that it was an accident. There are very few things that Russia and Poland agree upon nowadays, and this is one of them, but it doesn’t mean that Poland is operating under Russian influence. For background, a political crisis broke out over the summer as a result of Zelensky glorifying the Volhynia Genocide’s OUN-UPA culprits at the state level, which polarized Polish public opinion on Ukraine.
Poles still supported Ukraine even after November 2022’s lethal Przewodów incident despite it being obvious at the time that Ukraine was responsible and that Zelensky’s lies about Putin’s culpability were a dangerous ploy to provoke a hot NATO-Russian war. In fact, former President Andrzej Duda belatedly confirmed in September 2025 shortly after he left office that “They’ve been trying to drag everyone into the war from the very beginning.” Here are some briefings on the Przewodów incident as a reminder:
* 16 November 2022: “Ukraine Tried To Trick NATO Into Starting World War III After It Accidentally Bombed Poland”
* 16 November 2022: “Kiev Jumped The Shark After Its Foreign Minister Implied That Biden Is A Russian Propagandist”
* 16 November 2022: “Ukraine Betrayed Poland’s Trust With Its Dangerous Anti-Russian Conspiracy Theory”
* 16 November 2022: “The Top Five Implications Drawn From Ukraine Accidentally Bombing Poland”
* 23 November 2022: “Korybko To Ritter: New Evidence Compels You To Correct Your Conclusion About Poland”
As can be seen, Duda wasn’t exaggerating, and it would have been better in hindsight had he called Zelensky out at the time instead of keeping his abovementioned candid disclosure to himself back then. Nevertheless, it’s important that the prosecutor’s office hasn’t closed the case despite Ukraine’s obstinance, which lends credence to the prevailing hypothesis that it was responsible for those two accidental deaths. The timing of RMF24’s report is also significant given the tense political context.
Circling back to what was shared about that above, their follow-up investigation into the Przewodów incident was timed for its fourth anniversary on 15 November, which will intensify anti-Ukrainian political sentiments among Poles given Kiev’s continued refusal to cooperate with the investigation. This outcome is predictable, so it might also be that RMF24 tacitly intended to fan the flames ahead of time by reminding Poles of what happened through their latest report about it.
Looking forward, while the Przewodów incident didn’t worsen bilateral ties at the time despite Ukraine’s responsibility for the accidental death of two Poles, formal admission of what happened, an apology, and compensation to the victims’ families might be required to fully normalize their ties in the future. Patriotic Polish activists won’t let Ukraine off the hook, nor will the prosecutor’s office, so Ukraine is only perpetuating anti-Ukrainian political sentiments in Polish society by refusing to take responsibility for it.
