Germany to strengthen Polish air defence systems

Presidents enter talks on how German Patriot missiles can keep Poland's airspace safe

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, right, and Polish President Andrzej Duda at Bellevue Palace in Berlin on Monday. EPA

Germany has discussed supplying Poland with Patriot missiles as talks on how to integrate the batteries into Warsaw’s air defence system progress.

“Strengthening Poland’s air defence is of the greatest importance for building our security,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said in Berlin after meeting German head of state Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Mr Duda said he hoped for an agreement in “coming days.”

The Polish government made an about-face this month after initially rebuffing a German offer to station surface-to-air Patriots on its soil, saying they should be delivered to Ukraine.

But Berlin said that was a matter for Nato as a whole.

The Patriot batteries must be integrated into Poland’s entire air defence and under the relevant command, said Mr Duda, who is also the nation’s commander-in-chief.

A look at the Nato military alliance - in pictures

A solemn welcoming ceremony of US soldiers at Adazi military base, Latvia, on February 25, 2022. More than 300 soldiers of the 173rd Air Force Brigade arrived to demonstrate the US commitment to defend Nato allies and strengthen Latvia's defence capabilities following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. EPA

US paratroopers in Ukraine's western Lviv region during a Nato-sponsored training exercise in 2020. AP

A US military aircraft takes off at the US Air Base Ramstein, in Landstuhl, Germany, on February 25. US President Joe Biden February 24 authorised the deployment of further armed forces to Germany as part of Nato's response to Russia's military aggression on Ukraine. EPA

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on February 25. EPA

A convoy of British armoured vehicles of the Royal Welsh Battlegroup on the way to Estonia, driving through Liepupe, Latvia, on February 25. British troops and equipment are heading to Estonia as part of the UK's contribution to strengthen Nato's uplift to Eastern Europe. EPA

Protesters outside a Nato leaders virtual summit in Brussels on February 25. AP

A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender aircraft over Poland on February 24. US Air Force/Reuters

US military personnel check an Apache attack helicopter AH-64 during a technical stop on the tarmac at Traian Vuia International Airport in Timisoara, Romania, on February 24. EPA

German soldiers of the Nato enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania attend a ceremony during a visit of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to Rukla Military Base, Lithuania, on February 22. EPA

Mr Steinmeier welcomed the “basic agreement” on the Patriots, which were offered after a stray Ukrainian defence missile landed on Polish territory, killing two people.

The incident brught a moment of anxiety over a potential direct conflict between Russia and Nato.

“We spoke by phone a few hours after the missile struck eastern Poland,” Mr Steinmeier said.

“I well remember how great the fear and how great the concerns were in Poland at the time.”