A missile that landed in Georgia this week was ditched, not fired, by a Russian jet as it fled Georgian airspace, a source close to the Georgian investigation into the incident said on Wednesday. The source said the pilot of the Russian aircraft jettisoned the missile after coming under fire from separatist forces on the ground in South Ossetia, a Moscow-backed breakaway region of Georgia, in an apparent mix up.

The missile landed without exploding in a farmer’s field about 65 km west of the Georgian capital. Russia has denied any involvement but the incident has aggravated relations between the two neighbours that were already tense.

In Brussels, the European Union called on Russia and Georgia to show restraint. “We have the first results of the investigation, according to which South Ossetian forces fired a Strela (portable anti-aircraft missile) at the fighter jet which had flown from Russia to Georgia,” the Georgian official said.

“The pilot of the fighter jet decided to get rid of a guided missile he had on board. He did not shoot it but jettisoned it.”

A spokesman for Russia’s defence ministry dismissed the Georgian claim.