Funeral held for man killed by Poland missile blast

A funeral was held Saturday for one of the two victims of a missile that struck a Polish village near Ukraine earlier this week, an incident widely believed to have been an accident.

Warsaw and NATO have said the explosion was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile launched to intercept a Russian barrage, but that Moscow was ultimately to blame for starting the conflict.

Two workers at a local grain drying facility were killed when the blast occurred Tuesday in Przewodow, a village some six kilometres (four miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Boguslaw Wos, 62, was buried at the local cemetery in a funeral attended by family and friends, village residents, along with troops and Polish and Ukrainian officials.

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"This man would not have become a victim were it not for this cruel war," provincial governor Lech Sprawka said at the funeral.

"This victim serves as a call for peace to the entire world," he added, quoted by the Polish news agency PAP.

The victim's son also spoke, highlighting his late father's kindness, recalling how he had helped refugees flooding into Poland after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The missile blast in Poland, a NATO member, had initially raised fears of a dangerous escalation in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

An investigation into the explosion is under way.

The funeral for the other man killed -- 60-year-old Bogdan Ciupek -- will be held on Sunday.

Source: AFP