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Bloomberg
Poland’s defense chief welcomed a German offer to deploy Patriot missiles in the country and proposed stationing the defense system near its border with Ukraine.
Germany made the offer less than a week after a missile strike killed two people in a village in eastern Poland, raising fears of a significant escalation between Nato and Russia nine months after President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine.
The incident was defused after the military alliance and Polish authorities attributed the blast, which occurred during a broad Russian missile strike on Ukraine, to Ukrainian air-defense targeting a Russian projectile.
“During today’s telephone conversation with the German side, I will propose that the system be stationed near the border with Ukraine,†Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said in a post on Twitter.
The blast opened a debate about air-defense systems in Ukraine as well as in the Nato member states in the region. In September, Poland began receiving equipment for its first two US Patriot battery systems, which are set to become operational in late 2023.
The Raytheon-made surface-to-air Patriots can shoot down attacking missiles but also have high-tech sensors that help in identifying what’s in the air.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced the Patriot offer, as well as bolstered air policing with German Eurofighters, in an interview with the Rheinische Post newspaper on Monday.
Germany had offered to reinforce air-policing patrols over Poland starting on Thursday.