Disappointment nonetheless: Poland wants Patriot air defense systems for itself

Still a disappointment
Poland wants Patriot air defense systems for itself

Germany’s offer to supply the Poles with Patriot anti-aircraft systems to defend their airspace has been in place for two weeks. But with a lot of back and forth. The Poles would actually much prefer to see the defensive weapons in Ukraine – but now they’re taking them themselves.

Poland now wants to accept the Patriot air defense systems offered by Germany to defend its airspace. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter that they are working on stationing the Patriots on Polish territory and subordinating them to the Polish command system.

However, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht had already insisted that the German air defense systems are part of the integrated NATO air defense system. There was initially no talk of placing the weapon systems under a Polish command.

Two weeks ago, the SPD politician suggested moving the Patriots to Poland. Blaszczak initially accepted the offer. A day later, however, he surprisingly suggested that German anti-aircraft defenses should be stationed on Ukrainian territory instead of in Poland. This had caused resentment in Berlin.

About a week ago, Chancellor Olaf Scholz renewed the offer to Poland to station German Patriot air defense systems in neighboring countries. “Our offer to the Polish government to protect our own country is still not off the table,” said Scholz.

“After a discussion with the German Defense Ministry, I was disappointed with the decision to refuse support for Ukraine,” Blaszczak wrote on Twitter. “Deploying Patriots in western Ukraine would increase the security of Poles and Ukrainians.” They are therefore now working on stationing the Patriots in Poland.


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