Germany plans to extend the deployment of Patriot missiles in Poland until the end of the year

The German government has raised the possibility of extending Poland's current deployment of Patriot missiles until the end of the year, with the aim of reinforcing NATO's eastern flank in a context marked by the Russian military offensive on Ukraine and growing concerns in about the role that Belarus can play.

The German Ministry of Defense has stated in a statement that the Patriots make a “valuable contribution” for the sake of this protection. Specifically, these are three systems installed since last January in the Zamosc area, in southeastern Poland.

Initially, Berlin contemplated that the deployment would last a maximum of six months, but already in July the Polish Defense Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, raised the extension with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius.

The latter has indicated that the possible expansion takes into account the security needs of its ally, although for now the Government of Germany does not plan to delay the withdrawal until 2024.