Poland asks Germany to give Patriot system to Ukraine

The Polish defence minister has asked Germany to give Ukraine the Patriot air defence system Berlin offered to Poland after a fatal missile blast killed two Poles last week.

The German government offered Poland the Patriots to help it secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed near the Polish village of Przewodów close to the Ukrainian border last week.

Poland says the missile was likely a Ukrainian air-defence rocket that went rogue.

“After further missile attacks by Russia [against Ukraine], I asked the German side to pass the Patriot batteries that it had offered to Poland to Ukraine instead, and deploy them on their western border,” Mariusz Błaszczak wrote on Twitter.

⚡️Poland asks Germany to send Patriot missile launchers to Ukraine.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Nov. 23 he had asked Germany to send Patriot missile launchers offered to Poland to western Ukraine.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) November 24, 2022

“This will help Ukraine prevent further casualties and power cuts as well as increase the security of our eastern border,” he added.

The minister’s move is in line with the opinion expressed by the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP) earlier on Wednesday.

“The deployment of Patriot systems in the west of Ukraine would strengthen the security of Ukraine’s and Europe's airspace,” Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Forces, said on Thursday, commenting on the matter.