WARSAW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2022) Germany has refused to deliver Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, instead they will be deployed in Poland, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Tuesday.
On November 30, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Germany to give Kiev Patriot complexes, which were prepared for deployment in Poland. He also suggested that Poland give air defense systems to Ukraine upon their arrival from Germany.
"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 wrote on Twitter.
According to the minister, the systems will now be delivered and connected to the Polish national defense system.
"We are proceeding to coordinate the delivery of the launchers to Poland and connecting them to our control system," Blaszczak added.
Germany offered Poland to deploy several Patriot complexes at its border with Ukraine, following the missile incident on November 15.
On November 15, two missiles fell on Polish territory on the border with Ukraine, killing two people. Initially, Warsaw said that the missiles were Russian-made but later added that there was a high probability that they were shot by Ukrainian air defense forces working to intercept incoming Russian missiles. The Russian Defense Ministry said no strikes had been carried out on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border.
Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Germany has been supplying Ukraine with various types of weapon systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft guns. Previously, Berlin said it wouldn't send lethal weapons as part of its post-WWII policy, but has since given up on the principle.
