Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Funeral held for first of 2 Poles killed in missile blast

A funeral has been held for one of two Polish men who died in a missile explosion near the border with Ukraine

Via AP news wire
Saturday 19 November 2022 13:55 GMT

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

A funeral was held Saturday for one of two Polish men who died in a missile explosion near the border with Ukraine, deaths that Western officials said appeared to have been caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile that went astray.

White roses were placed on the wooden casket of Boguslaw Wos. A family member carried a black-and-white photo of him, while another man carried a crucifix bearing his name. Polish state news agency PAP described Wos as a 62-year-old warehouse manager.

Wos and another man died on Tuesday in Przewodow, a small farming community some 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the border with Ukraine as that country was defending itself against a barrage of Russian missiles directed at Ukraine’s power infrastructure.

Officials from Poland, NATO and the United States have said they think Russia is to blame for the deaths no matter what because a Ukrainian missile would not have misfired had the country not been forced to defend itself against Russian attacks.

A Polish investigation to determine the source of the missile and the circumstances of the explosion was launched with support from the U.S. Ukrainian investigators joined the probe on Friday.

Wos' funeral took place in a village church, and he was to be buried in the local cemetery, PAP said.

The funeral had elements of a state funeral, with a military honor guard and Polish officials and Ukrainian representatives joining the man's family and members of the community.

Ukraine's consul general in the nearby city of Lublin placed a wreath in the colors of Ukraine, PAP reported.

The funeral and burial were held in private, with the Wos family requesting no media access.

The other victim is to be buried on Sunday.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in