A battery of U.S. Patriot missiles has arrived in the small Polish town of Morag, 80 km (50 miles) from the Russian border.
Poland hosts a foreign military base on its soil.
A battery of U.S. Patriot missiles has arrived in the small Polish town of Morag, 80 km (50 miles) from the Russian border. Photo: Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich at the ceremony marking the arrival of the first rotation of U.S. surface-to-air Patriot missiles in Morag.
Poland’s defense minister believes that the systems will strengthen the country’s security.
Foreign troops have a base on Polish soil for the first time since the fall of communism and withdrawal of Soviet forces from Poland 17 years ago.
Poland’s defense minister, Bogdan Klich, continues to reassure the public that the decision to deploy a battery of U.S. Patriot missiles near the town of Morag close to the border with Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, rather than near Warsaw as was originally planned, “is not politically motivated.”
Around 120 U.S. servicemen are billeted at the military base in Morag.
U.S. surface-to-air Patriot missiles in Morag military base in Poland.
Under a Polish-U.S. treaty regulating U.S. troops’ status, the base is temporary for two years but is expected to become permanent after 2012.
U.S. Patriot anti-aircraft missiles have been deployed at the base and will be followed by SM-3 (Standard Missile) units capable of destroying ballistic missiles.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Friday that there could be no justification for placing the Patriot missiles near the border. Photo: U.S. surface-to-air Patriot missiles in Morag.
If this were to become permanent, Grushko said, it would amount to a violation of the obligations undertaken by NATO countries, namely that they will refrain from massing large forces in areas adjoining the Russian border. Photo: U.S. servicemen at the military base in Morag.
The deployment of the missiles was discussed on May 27 by the international affairs committees of the Russian and Polish parliaments, which met together for the first time in Warsaw to discuss pressing bilateral issues. Photo: U.S. Military base in Morag.
