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German Patriot air defence systems will be deployed in the eastern part of the country, the Polish defence minister has said.
The German government offered the US-made Patriots to Warsaw after a stray missile, believed to be Ukrainian, crashed to earth in eastern Poland last month, killing two.
Mariusz Blaszczak, Poland’s defence minister, told a local radio station on Monday that the batteries will be deployed in the Lublin region, which borders Ukraine.
“Because the tragic accident of November 15 took place in the Lublin region, the Patriot launchers will be deployed in this region to prevent such a situation from happening again,” Blaszczak said.
However, he added, the missile that hit the Polish territory was present in the country’s airspace only for a few seconds, therefore preventing such an accident is extremely difficult.
“It would be more effective if such systems were deployed in western Ukraine,” the minister said.
Germany did not agree to Poland’s proposal to send the Patriots to Ukraine instead.
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