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US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday announced that her country has deployed an additional 4,700 troops and delivered two Patriot missile defence systems to Poland. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland, a NATO member, has become a significant territory between the West and Ukraine.
Bordering the war-torn country, Poland acts as a strategic ground for several nations, including the US, to supply military aid to Ukraine. It has also welcomed thousands of refugees fleeing the country.
However, its proximity to Ukraine as well as Russia’s growing tensions with NATO have also stoked fears of the war spilling over to Poland. On Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of Poland’s membership to the alliance stated that they had more than doubled their military presence in the country in recent weeks. “This sends a clear message that NATO Allies stand together. We will protect Poland. And defend every inch of Allied territory,” he asserted.
The US has deployed two Patriot missile defence systems to Poland. Information provided by the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation Office of the Secretary of Defense (DOT&E) states that Patriot refers to “a mobile air and missile defense system that counters missile and aircraft threats.”
Among other components, it comes equipped with C-band phased-array radars to detect incoming missiles and a mix of Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 hit-to-kill missiles and PAC-2 blast fragmentation warhead missiles to destroy the threat. Its latest variant, Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), has a “larger range and lethality”.
According to a 2019 report by the US Department of Defense, the Patriots were first deployed in 1982 and went on to be a part of the US defence in the ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ in 2003. The UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have also acquired Patriot missile defence systems.
Historically, Poland was under Soviet control for years until the end of World War I. However, during WWII, Poland was again caught between the invading armies of Nazi Germany and Russia, who then divided the territory between themselves. It was only in 1991, that Poland saw its first parliamentary elections and the Soviet troops started leaving the territory. Now, with Russia advancing into Ukraine, Polish leaders fear that President Vladimir Putin may escalate the war and enter their territory.
Poland has been facing heat from Russia through its increasing military presence in Belarus – with which Warsaw has a strained relationship. Poland had called for sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko when he came to power in 2020 through purportedly rigged elections. Poland in 2021 also blamed Lukashenko for creating a migrant crisis at its border and using them as “pawns” to secure the easing of sanctions imposed against him.
Last month, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda had warned that Russian troops in Belarus were a threat to Poland and other Baltic states. Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau also called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to increase deterrence and deploy NATO troops in face of the threat, The Washington Post had reported.
In response to these fears, Harris during her visit to the Polish capital, Warsaw, this week announced that the US has delivered the Patriot systems “as a reminder and as a demonstration of our commitment to the security of our Allies and our commitment, in particular, to Poland at this moment in time”. The deployment of additional troops came on top of the “years of rotation of about 5,000 American troops in Poland”.
Polish President Andrzej Duda welcomed the US’ military presence in his country amid Russia’s “imperial appetite”. He added, “…if the world does not react to that…if the North Atlantic Alliance does not stand up, does not present a tough stance, then we will see more attacks from Russia — to which perhaps, sooner or later, also my country, Poland, would fall victim to.”
Poland has been at the forefront of providing humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Making use of its strategic location, US Pentagon officials confirmed that soon after Russia’s invasion, military stockpiles in Germany were moved to Poland and Romania to eventually land in Ukraine, a report from The New York Times stated.
However, the supply of military aid from Poland is construed as an individual effort by countries, several of them allied to the NATO, and not as a formal operation by the alliance or the European Union lest it escalates tensions.
Recently, Poland had offered to send all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to a US airbase in Germany to be then supplied to Ukraine. However, the US had rejected the offer with US Press Secretary John Kirby stating on March 9, “the transfer of combat aircraft right now could be mistaken by Mr Putin and the Russians as an escalatory step. That’s not only not good for NATO… for the United States and our national security, (but) should this conflict escalate even further, it’s certainly not going to be good for the Ukrainian people.”
Poland on its own has also supplied military aid to the war-hit country. Like most governments, the Polish Minister of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, stayed away from disclosing the details of their aid to Ukraine. He, however, tweeted on February 25 – a day after Russia began its invasion – “The convoy with the ammunition that we hand over to Ukraine has already reached our neighbours. We support Ukrainians, we stand in solidarity and we firmly oppose Russian aggression.”
The NATO member has also been a haven for thousands of refugees fleeing the war. According to the data maintained by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of March 11, as many as 2,504,893 Ukrainians had left the country since February 24. Of these, 1,524,903 have been welcomed by Poland.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday thanked the Polish National Assembly for its support. News agency DW quoted him as saying, “We are fighting for the Baltic states and for Poland so that they don’t have to face (Russia).”
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