The Polish government announced yesterday, Tuesday, that it will finally install on its own territory batteries of the Patriot anti-aircraft defence system[/B], which Germany had offered to it, but which it had asked to be deployed on Ukrainian territory.
Polish Defense Minister Marius Blaszczak said on Twitter that he had discussed with his German counterpart Christine Lamprecht and "accepted, with disappointment, her decision to refuse to support Ukraine."
"The deployment of Patriot in western Ukraine would increase the security of Poles and Ukrainians."[/B]
"The deployment of Patriot in western Ukraine would increase the security of Poles and Ukrainians. We will therefore proceed with the work of arranging the placement of the launchers in Poland and their integration into our command system," he added, although initially there was no mention of these systems coming under Warsaw's command.
The information that an agreement had been reached was, however, confirmed almost immediately by the German Defence Ministry.
"Federal Minister (of Defence) Christine Lambrecht and her Polish counterpart had a good conversation about the offer to deploy German Patriot systems in Poland and agreed in principle," a spokesman said in an email obtained by Agence France-Presse.
"Details such as the locations of the possible deployment and the creation of the necessary infrastructure will now be discussed at a technical level and it is planned to send a reconnaissance team to Poland immediately," he added."
On November 21, Berlin offered to deploy these modern US-made anti-aircraft defence systems on Poland's eastern border following the deadly downing of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile in the region.
Initially Mr Blaszak accepted the proposal, but 24 hours later he changed his mind: he suggested that the Patriot should be deployed on the Ukrainian side of the border.
Germany countered that this possibility should be discussed in NATO. The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Jens Stoltenberg, for his part, commented that the decision was a credit to the German government.
The change of attitude of the Polish authorities, which was perceived as a diplomatic rejection of the German offer, was criticised by the Polish opposition, which attributed it to the anti-German orientation of the conservative nationalist government.
If there was the slightest doubt about this orientation, it was dispelled by recent statements by the leader of the ruling party Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who denounced Germany's attempt to impose its "domination" on Europe.
NATO member states have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of weapons to help it counter Russia's invasion, including modern air defense systems. Germany sent Kiev Iris-T batteries, a medium-range system. But the US and its allies have refrained at this stage from sending Patriot systems, longer-range systems, to Ukraine.
This system is a key element of the alliance's defenses on its eastern flank. Washington has deployed arrays of it in Poland, Germany in Slovakia.
Source: APM
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