Germany has offered to re-deploy Patriot air defence systems to NATO ally Poland at the start of the new year, the German defence ministry stated.
The units could be deployed for up to six months, the ministry said in a statement.
“With this we will protect a logistical hub in Poland which is of central importance for the delivery of materials to Ukraine,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said.
His Polish counterpart Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a post on social media platform X that Warsaw welcomed the decision.
Germany previously deployed 300 troops along with three Patriot units to Poland from January to November 2023.
They were based in the town of Zamosc, about 50 km from the Ukrainian border, to protect the southern town and its crucial railway link to Ukraine.
The deployment was triggered by a stray Ukrainian missile that struck the Polish village of Przewodow in November 2022, in an incident that raised fears of the war in Ukraine spilling over the border.
The German government will publish a new defence industry strategy, which aims to cut red tape and accelerate arms production, by the end of the year despite the collapse of the political coalition Pistorius said on Monday.
Germany, the largest backer of Ukraine in Europe, vowed to upgrade its eroded army, the Bundeswehr and boost defence as part of a “Zeitenwende” – or “turning point” – policy shift announced shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The strategy could allow the government to take a stake in arms-makers and defence projects in “strategic cases”, and contains recommendations including promoting key technologies and improving the industry’s financial framework, according to a draft seen by Reuters.
Pistorius said at a separate event on Monday at Airbus Helicopters’ site in Donauwoerth, Germany, that the government was still capable of taking action, despite the coalition between the minister’s Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and pro-market Free Democrats falling apart.
Germany’s weapons stocks, already down due to decades of underinvestment, have depleted even further because of weapons supply to Ukraine. Although military aid to Ukraine will be cut, Germany will comply with the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2025, with a total of 75.3 billion euros.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
