After the rocket hit Polish soil, the airspace of Germany’s neighbors should be better protected. An anti-aircraft system originally intended for Poland could possibly be placed in the Ukraine – thus killing two birds with one stone.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has also spoken out in favor of stationing the anti-aircraft systems offered by Germany directly in Ukraine. This is a good proposal to protect “the western Ukrainian-Polish border area and the eastern Polish-Ukrainian border area” at the same time, Morawiecki said in Warsaw.
Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak had previously suggested moving to Ukraine on Wednesday evening. “This would allow Ukraine to be saved from further casualties and power outages and increase security on our eastern border,” he wrote on Twitter.
Only on Monday did Blaszczak and Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht agree on joint protection of Polish airspace. According to this, the NATO partner should receive Patriot air defense systems, and the Air Force also wanted to support airspace surveillance with Eurofighters. Before Blaszczak, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the national-conservative ruling party PiS, had said that “for Poland’s security” it would be better if the Germans left the Patriots to Ukraine.
Poland’s opposition criticized the move. This is the PiS government’s idea to de facto reject the German proposal, but not to say so out loud, ex-President Bronislaw Komorowski told radio station Rmf.fm. “It is difficult to accept German help and at the same time spit on Germany in politics wherever you can and accuse it of almost aggressive intentions towards Poland.”
Last week, a rocket hit the Polish border area with Ukraine, killing two civilians. Currently, the West believes it was a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile used to defend against Russian military attacks.
