Berlin refuses Patriot supplies to Kiev, deploy them in Poland instead
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Polish defense minister says that Berlin refused Kiev's request to supply patriot system to Ukraine and will deploy it in Poland as planned.
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US-made Patriot air defense system.
According to Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, Germany refused a request by Kiev to supply them with Patriot air defense systems and will be sending them to Poland as previously planned.
"After talking with the German defense minister, I was disappointed with the decision to withdraw support from Ukraine. Deploying Patriot in western Ukraine would increase the security of Poles and Ukrainians," Blaszczak said on Tuesday in a tweet.
Read more: Germans think their nation has done enough for Ukraine: WP
Earlier in November, Ukraine's FM Dmytro Kuleba asked Berlin to supply his country with the American anti-missile system rather than sending them to Poland, suggesting also that Poland provide Kiev with air defense systems after the former receives the Patrion batteries.
"We are proceeding to coordinate the delivery of the launchers to Poland and connecting them to our control system," Blaszczak added on his Twitter account.
Read more: Chinese intervention halts supply of Polish MiG-29 to Ukraine
Last November, Germany offered to supply Poland several batteries from its Patriot missile defense system after two Poles died when two missiles, believed to be Ukrainian, fell on the village of Przewodów in the Lubelskie Voivodeship near the border with Ukraine on November 15.
Polish President Andrzej Duda tweeted then that the Patriot missiles offered to Poland by Germany should be sent to Ukraine because it makes sense from a military point of view.
However, Duda added that, "if Germany does not agree that the system could be installed in Ukraine, then Poland should accept it."
Read more: Germany supplies Ukraine with weapons its army doesn't possess
