Poland expects info from Germany on deliveries of patriot systems
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Poland's Defense Minister says that his German counterpart agreed on deploying Patriot launchers on the border with Ukraine. It remains to determine the version of the system, how quickly they will get to us as well as the duration of their deployement.
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Lambrecht confirmed that the two countries had agreed to deploy air defense systems in Poland and carry out joint operations securing Polish airspace.
Poland expects information from Berlin on the delivery of Patriot missile defense systems from Germany to Poland, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Monday.
"German Defense Minister [Christine Lambrecht] confirmed readiness to deploy Patriot launchers on the border with Ukraine. It remains to determine the version of the system, how quickly they will get to us and how long they will stay here," Blaszczak tweeted.
The Polish defense minister expressed hope that Berlin would provide details soon.
Germany had offered to deliver the Patriot missile defense systems to Poland, while the Polish Defense Minister said that Poland would propose to Berlin the missile defense systems be deployed on the Polish-Ukrainian border, Lambrecht told the daily Rheinische Post earlier on Monday.
Lambrecht confirmed later on Monday that the two countries had agreed to deploy air defense systems in Poland and carry out joint operations securing Polish airspace.
"Poland is our friend, ally and as Ukraine's neighbor particularly exposed, Together with my Polish colleague Mariusz Blaszczak, we have agreed to send Patriot air defense systems to Poland and to assist in securing Polish airspace with Eurofighters," Lambrecht said in a statement released on Twitter by the German defense ministry and added that details of the deal were being worked out by relevant experts.
On November 15, two missiles fell on the village of Przewodów in the Lubelskie Voivodeship near the border with Ukraine, killing two people. Initially, Warsaw said that the missiles were Russian-made. Later, initial investigation indicated, according to the Associated Press, citing US sources, that the missile that impacted Poland was launched by Ukrainian forces in response to an inbound Russian missile. The Russian Defense Ministry said no strikes had been carried out on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border.
Poland puts armed forces on heightened readiness
Warsaw is putting some of its military units on a heightened state of readiness, a government spokesperson had stated on Tuesday in light of unconfirmed reports about Russian missiles landing in Poland.
"There has been a decision to raise the state of readiness of some combat units and other uniformed services," spokesman Piotr Muller told reporters after an emergency national security council meeting in Warsaw.
The Pentagon said it was unable to verify reports that 2 Russian missiles hit Poland soils, but it is investigating the claims.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the unconfirmed reports, Ukraine called for NATO members to convene an "immediate" summit to bring tough measures against Moscow.
The Russian Defense Ministry quickly dismissed Poland's statements about "Russian missiles", saying they were a deliberate provocation to try and escalate the situation.
Read: Kiev eyes joint investigation of missile incident in Poland
