The German government said on Monday that it has offered to provide Warsaw with a Patriot air defence system, after last week’s deadly missile strike in Poland.
“We have offered to help Poland secure its airspace with our Eurofighter (aircraft) and Patriot air defence systems,” German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht told the Rheinische Post newspaper.
Two people were killed last week by a missile that fell on the Polish village of Przewodow, near the Ukrainian border. Warsaw and Nato said the explosion was probably caused by a Ukrainian defence missile, but that Moscow was ultimately responsible, having triggered the conflict.
Germany offered to support Poland with air patrols the next day.
“I welcomed the German proposal,” Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Twitter on Monday, referring to the US-designed Patriot surface-to-air missile system.
“During my telephone conversation with the German side today, I will propose that the system be stationed near the border with Ukraine,” he added.
German Patriot anti-aircraft units are already deployed in Slovakia. Berlin intends to keep them there “until the end of 2023 and potentially even beyond,” Lambrecht said.
