Germany offer redeployment of Patriot systems in Poland

The units could be deployed for up to six months, the German ministry said in a statement.

"With this we will protect a logistical hub in Poland which is of central importance for the delivery of materials to Ukraine," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said.

"We welcome Germany's decision to deploy Patriot system batteries to Poland," Poland's Minister of National Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said later on Thursday.

The Defense Minister shared on X that, in line with a NATO decision, Poland will receive additional "allied support for our air defense" starting in January 2025.

From January to November 2023, Germany had already deployed 300 troops together with three Patriot units to Poland.

They were based in the town Zamość, about 50 km (31 miles) from the Ukrainian border, to protect the southern town and its crucial railway link to Ukraine.

The deployment was triggered by a stray Ukrainian missile that struck the Polish village of Przewodów in November 2022, in an incident that raised fears of the war in Ukraine spilling over the border.

Poland is a key political and military ally of Ukraine. It also plays a vital role as a logistics hub for Western military aid to Kyiv. The airport near Rzeszów is especially critical for the transport of weaponry. The planned redeployment of German Patriot systems is therefore not a reaction to an immediate shift in the security situation, German agency dpa said on Thursday.

The Bundeswehr's Patriot systems are among the most advanced in the world. They are used to counter hostile aircraft, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.