U.S. to Send Patriot Missile Systems to Poland

[dalton99a]

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-03-09/

U.S. to Send Patriot Missile Systems to Poland
By Nancy A. Youssef

The U.S. military is sending two Patriot missile-defense systems to Poland, amid growing fears that Russia’s war in Ukraine could threatening neighboring countries.

“This defensive deployment is being conducted proactively to counter any potential threat to U.S. and Allied forces and NATO territory,” U.S. European Command said in a statement.

Poland has been critical both to Ukrainians fleeing the country and those defending the nation since Russia invaded 13 days ago. Poland, a NATO and EU member, has over a million refugees from Ukraine and has become a major staging area for arms going into the country.

On Tuesday, Poland said it would send all of its MIG-29 aircraft to an American air base that could transport them to Ukraine in exchange for comparable American fighter jets. The Pentagon appeared to reject that offer.

Russia has fired at least 670 missiles into Ukraine, a senior defense official said Tuesday, and there are fears that an errant missile could land in Poland, which the Patriot missile system could defend against. The Poles already have at least two Patriot missile defense systems.