NATO is open to Poland's proposal to deploy Germany's Patriot anti-aircraft systems in Ukraine. It is a national decision whether such weapons are delivered to Kyiv, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In doing so, he invalidated the arguments of Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), who had referred to possible reservations by NATO. Poland's President Andrej Duda stressed that from a military point of view his country would be best protected if the Patriot systems were deployed in western Ukraine. But Germany must make the decision.
Actually intended for Polish airspace
Germany had actually offered the systems to Poland to secure Polish airspace. Warsaw then suggested moving directly to Ukraine, which had been invaded by Russia in February.
Stoltenberg pointed out to journalists in Brussels that NATO allies had already delivered various types of modern air defense systems to Ukraine, as well as other modern systems such as the Himars rocket launchers. If specialists are needed to operate them, Ukrainians could be trained in a NATO state. This was also the case with the Nasams air defense system, for example.
According to Stoltenberg, there must be consultations with other allies if, for example, there are end user agreements between the seller state and the buyer state. These can regulate, for example, that a weapon system may not be resold without permission.
Lambrecht referred to NATO's reservations
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) had so far reacted cautiously to the stationing of German Patriot systems in Ukraine. These are part of the NATO air defense and intended for the NATO area, she said on Thursday. An operation outside must be discussed with the Allies.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg had previously shown himself open to significantly greater support for Ukraine with Western weapon systems. When asked in September whether the Allies should meet the alliance's capability goals rather than supplying Ukraine with more equipment, he made it clear in September that he considered a defeat by Ukraine to be more dangerous than NATO countries stocking weapons caches according to plan.
Duda: Berlin has to make the decision
Poland's President Duda emphasized that Berlin must make the decision on where to move the anti-aircraft systems. "From a military point of view, it would also be best for the protection of Polish territory if these missiles were located at a certain distance from the Polish border on the territory of Ukraine," he said in Vilnius. Then the anti-aircraft defense could protect both countries most effectively. "But the decision on stationing lies with the country that has this system, i.e. with the German side," Duda continued. On Thursday evening, the President added on Twitter that if Germany does not agree to the move to Ukraine, "we must adopt this protection system."
Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann commented on the debate: "It was important for the federal government to make an offer to NATO ally Poland and to support it with security. Of course, we took note of Poland's reaction to this proposal." The government also noted that the proposal had been well received by the public in Poland. "And that made us happy." Discussions are being held with the allies on how to deal with further suggestions by Poland.
