US opens missile defence base in Poland

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

The United States had opened a new missile defence base in Poland, its first permanent military installation in the country. Polish President Andrzej Duda declared that the development shows “the whole world clearly that this is no longer a Russian zone of influence”.

Ahead of the opening, the Kremlin warned that it regarded the “advancement of American military infrastructure in Europe towards our borders” as “part of an attempt to contain Russia militarily”. It promised to “adopt appropriate measures” to restore “parity”, without specifying what they would entail.

The new base, which is part of a broader anti-missile shield intended to protect the US and Europe from ballistic missiles, is located in Redzikowo, near Poland’s northern Baltic coast.

Plans for the installation were initiated in the first decade of this century under US President George W. Bush, then confirmed by President Barack Obama. Construction finally began in 2016.

The base – along with another in Romania – is part of NATO’s Aegis Ashore system, which will protect against medium-range and intermediate-range missiles.

Russia has long raised concerns about the system, but NATO has insisted it is a purely defensive measure and intended to defend against missiles fired from the Middle East.

In addition to Duda, today’s inauguration ceremony was attended by Poland’s defence and foreign ministers – Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Radosław Sikorski – as well as the commander of the United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Stuart B. Munsch, and American ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski.

“For the first time, we are establishing a permanent installation, an element of military infrastructure, on Polish territory,” said Brzezinski, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP). “Poland is an extremely responsible ally, a friend and a collaborator of the United States.”

“The Polish and American nations stand shoulder to shoulder in the vanguard of defence against, in the past Soviet, and currently Russian imperialism and aggression,” said Munsch, quoted by Polsat News.

President Duda, meanwhile, said that the new base would “defend the freedom and security of the world”, adding that “the physical presence of the United States in Poland is a guarantee of the security of Poland and the eastern flank of NATO”.

Kosiniak-Kamysz called its opening “an event of historical importance for Polish and American security”, noting that “the current conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrate the importance of air and missile defence”.

Sikorski, meanwhile, highlighted that the fact the project had been developed under four different US presidents and three Polish governments “is proof of the geostrategic consistency of the US” and that the “Polish elites remain united on issues of security and foreign policy”.

The US is Poland’s most significant military ally. Last year, the first permanent American military garrison in Poland was opened. Both the current and former Polish governments have ordered billions of dollars worth of military hardware from the US.

That has been part of a spending spree that has seen Poland’s defence budget rise to the highest relative level in NATO, at 4.12% of GDP this year, set to rise to 4.7% in 2025.

In March this year, Poland signed a $2.5 billion deal with the US for an advanced air defence system, becoming the first country other than the US itself to operate it.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: MON (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)