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| Germany Begins Deliveries of Patriot Air Missile Defense Systems to Poland |
Berlin - Germany delivered the first two of three Patriot air defense systems to the Polish city of Zamosc near the Ukrainian border. The unit will be deployed to prevent stray missile attacks.
Two people were killed by a stray Ukrainian missile that hit the Polish village of Przewodow in the region last November, in an incident that raised fears the war in Ukraine would spill over to the borders.
As a result, Germany offered to deploy three of its Patriot units to Poland to help secure Polish air space. Ground-based air defense systems such as the Patriot Raytheon are built to intercept incoming missiles.
"One of the reasons why Germany will now support the eastern wing of NATO in Poland with the Patriots is of course because we saw how quickly the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could spill over into NATO member states," Colonel Joerg Sievers told reporters in the eastern German city of Gnoien. as quoted by Reuters.
Sievers, who will command German units in Poland, underscored the defensive nature of the Patriot system. "We are not the only defense force on the ground, the British and Americans are also on the ground," he said. "The Patriot is a rigorous defense system, and we hope to provide adequate protection there to prevent attacks or accidents like the one that occurred in November," he added.