Russia's Navy will equip its Baltic Fleet with high-precision weapons over Polish plans to station U.S. Patriot missiles closer to the Russian border, a high-ranking source in the Navy said on Thursday.
"Primarily, surface, underwater and air components of the Baltic Fleet will be reinforced," the source said.
He added that new corvette class warships with long-range high-precision cruise missiles on board would join the fleet.
The Russian naval spokesman's statement came a day after Poland announced plans to deploy a battery of U.S. Patriot missiles just 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Russian border.
Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said on Wednesday the decision was neither political nor strategic, explaining that good infrastructure was the only reason to use a base near Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad rather than one outside Warsaw.
MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti)
