Poland intends to deploy Patriot air defense offered by Germany near Ukraine's border

Ksenia Omelchenko

Deputy Prime Minister, Head of the Ministry of Defense of Poland Mariusz Błaszczak said that he welcomes the proposal of his German colleague to place additional Patriot launchers on the territory of Poland.

RMF24 reports that during the conversation on Monday, he said he would offer to place them near the border with Ukraine.

"I was pleased to welcome the German Defense Minister's proposal to place additional Patriot launchers in our country. During today's telephone conversation with the German side, I will propose to place the system near the border with Ukraine," Błaszczak said.

"We offered Poland support in ensuring airspace security with our Eurofighter fighters and Patriot air defense systems," German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said earlier.

Reference

The Patriot system is an American medium-range anti-aircraft missile system that is used, in particular, by the USA and Germany, and since October of this year, also by Poland.

By the end of 2022, the Polish military should have two Patriot batteries (16 launchers) in service. In addition, two Patriot batteries of the US armed forces are stationed on the territory of Poland in the city of Rzeszów.

We will remind you that the explosion in Przewodów took place on the afternoon of November 15, shortly after the start of russia's large-scale missile attack on Ukraine, which prompted a meeting of the National Security Council in Poland. At first, it was assumed that a russian missile had fallen on Przewodów, and it was unofficially reported that there could have been two missiles. Later, it was reported that, according to the preliminary conclusions of Polish and American experts, it was most likely a missile from the Ukrainian air defense system.

Polish President Andrzej Duda called the explosion an accident on November 16. He also stated that he understands Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who expressed his belief that the missile that fell on the territory of Poland on Tuesday was russian.