Authorities have given permission for several hundred German soldiers to be stationed in the country, who will arrive with Patriot systems.
The Germans have reassured Poland that the Patriot anti-aircraft missile launchers will reach both Poland and Ukraine. The German soldiers are expected to arrive in Poland after the weekend, with the agreement signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The allocation of the systems to both Poland and Ukraine is not expected to affect how many launchers will reach Poland, a German government spokesman assured.
It is expected to take about eight weeks to train Ukrainian soldiers to use the patriots donated by Germany. The launchers are intended to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian missile attacks and to help Poland ensure its security against missiles that may fall on its territory. The German training in the use of the launchers will be attended by some 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers – as many as are needed to operate one battery.
The German battery of Patriot systems, which will be handed over to the Ukrainians by the Germans, is the second such set to be delivered to troops under Kyiv’s authority. In December, the delivery of the first battery of sets of this type to the Ukrainians was announced by US President Joe Biden.
German soldiers in Poland will be stationed in the southwestern part of the country, in the Lublin region, close to the Ukrainian border.
Germany offered Poland and Ukraine the Patriot anti-aircraft systems after two missiles, which were most likely two Ukrainian air defence missiles in which the auto-destroyer did intercept, fell on the Polish border village of Przewodów in November last year. On the same day, the Russians launched a massive missile attack across Ukraine.
(Bartosz Sieniawski | EURACTIV.pl)
Source: euractiv.com
