The Polish defence minister has claimed that the US decision to offer a Patriot air defence system to Ukraine has been taken owing to an initiative presented by Poland.

In November, Germany offered its US-made Patriots to Poland after a stray missile killed two Poles near the Ukrainian border. Poland’s government, however, proposed that the missiles be stationed in Ukraine. Germany declined to send the Patriots to Ukraine citing restrictions on deploying Nato weaponry in non-Nato states.

In late December, Joe Biden’s administration said it would provide another USD 1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including the Patriot air defence system.

„We have succeeded in bringing the Patriots to Ukraine. There is no doubt that it is thanks to us that the American Patriots will go to Ukraine,” Mariusz Blaszczak told state-owned broadcaster TVP Info on Tuesday.

At the same time he argued that Germany did not want to send the Patriots to Ukraine because „the attitude of the Germans is, to put it mildly, quite limited when it comes to supporting Ukraine.”

„The United States, on the other hand, truly supports Ukraine and thanks to this initiative that we have presented, Patriots will go to Ukraine,” he said without revealing any details of Poland’s proposal. (PAP)

emer/mrb/ej