War against Ukraine: US moves “Patriot” missiles to Poland

Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the US has moved “Patriot” anti-missiles to Poland. The Pentagon spoke of a “purely defensive mission” to protect against possible threats.

Because of the war in Ukraine, the USA has moved two “Patriot” missile systems from Germany to Poland as a precaution. The missile batteries were moved to neighboring Ukraine at the request of the Polish government, a US Department of Defense official said.

“We will not discuss where they are based, nor will we discuss their operational status,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

He emphasized that the transfer was not triggered by any specific event or action by the Russians and spoke of a “purely defensive use” to protect against possible threats. In view of the Ukraine war, the “patriots” are best suited to defend NATO territory.

US Vice President Harris travels to Poland

US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw today. During the talks, the discussion about Polish MiG-29 combat aircraft should be discussed again.

The Foreign Ministry in Warsaw recently said it could bring its MiG jets “free of charge and immediately” to the US base in Ramstein in Germany. It would then be possible that the USA could then deliver the Soviet-designed fighter jets to Ukraine, whose pilots are trained on this type.

However, the Pentagon described the move as “unsustainable”. The prospect of the fighter jets being able to fly into contested Ukrainian airspace from a US-NATO base in Germany gives “the entire NATO alliance cause for serious concern.” Poland does not want to appear as a participant in the Russo-Ukrainian war – but neither does the USA.

Scholz against Poland’s aircraft delivery

Chancellor Olaf Scholz also spoke out against the delivery of the aircraft. At a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, Scholz referred to financial aid, humanitarian support and the delivery of individual weapon systems to Ukraine. “And otherwise it is the case that we have to think very carefully about what we are actually doing. And that certainly does not include combat aircraft,” emphasized the SPD politician.

The “Patriot” missile system is used to defend against aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, even at high altitudes. The Federal Ministry of Defense in Berlin had already announced at the end of February that Patriot anti-aircraft missiles would be transferred to Slovakia. The Russian attack on Ukraine has revived fears of possible Russian aggression among eastern NATO countries.