President Duda: Germany must decide where Patriot missiles are stationed

Germany said on Friday it was discussing with allies Poland's request that German Patriot air defence units be sent to Ukraine, after NATO's chief suggested the military alliance might not oppose such a move.

Berlin offered Warsaw the Patriot system to help secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed and killed two people in Poland last week. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak later asked Germany to send the fire units to Ukraine instead.

"We are talking with our allies about how to handle Poland's ... suggestion," a German government spokesperson told reporters in Berlin.

Later on Friday, the Polish president said it was Germany's decision where its Patriot air defence units are stationed, adding that it would be better for Poland's security if they were on Ukrainian territory near the border.

"From a military point of view, of course, it would be best if these rocket systems (Patriot air defence units) were stationed in Ukraine, close to the Polish border to also protect Polish territory. Then they would protect and help protect both Ukraine and Poland most effectively," Andrzej Duda told a news conference in Kaunas, Lithuania. "But the decision rests with the German side."

Duda later said that Germany could send the Patriot units to Ukraine without NATO troops to operate them, something he says Kyiv has been asking for for a while.

"But if there is no consent to this, let them be here (in Poland) and protect us," Duda wrote on Twitter.

On the sidelines of NATO drills in northeastern Poland, Błaszczak took a swipe at Berlin by saying he was surprised by the idea that the German Patriots might be too advanced to be transferred to Ukraine.

"Some are making the thesis that German Patriots are too technologically advanced to be transferred to Ukraine. First of all, German patriots are the old version from the 80s., so you cannot say that they are technologically advanced. Polish Patriots are technologically advanced and it is the newest version of the Patriots. The German ones are old," he said.

"Locating the German Patriots system in Ukraine is beneficial for the safety of the east part of our country, the south-east part of our country because anti-missile safety in western Ukraine means safety in Poland as well," Poland's defence minister said.