Poland announced on Tuesday that it will accept on its territory the Patriot air defense systems offered by Germany, which it previously offered to transfer to Ukraine, writes AFP.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Tuesday that he had discussed with his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht and “accepted with disappointment his decision to withdraw support for Ukraine”, Agerpres notes.

“Placing Patriot systems in western Ukraine would increase the security of Poles and Ukrainians. Therefore, we are making working decisions regarding the placement of batteries in Poland and connecting them to our command system,” he said on Twitter.

The information was quickly confirmed by the German Ministry of Defense.

“Federal Minister Christine Lambrecht and her Polish counterpart have seriously discussed Germany’s proposal to deploy German Patriot systems in Poland and have agreed in principle,” the spokesman told AFP in an email.

“Details such as possible deployment locations and necessary infrastructure are currently being discussed at a technical level, and it is planned to send a reconnaissance team to Poland immediately,” he added.

Poland wanted Germany to send Patriot systems to Ukraine

On November 21, Germany offered to provide Patriot systems to Poland after an incident in which a projectile hit Polish territory on the eastern border during Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, killing two people.

Mariusz Blaszczak initially welcomed this proposal, but then changed his mind, proposing to deploy Patriot systems on the Ukrainian side of the border.

Germany replied that this decision should be discussed within NATO. But Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the decision rests with the Berlin government.

The change in the position of the Polish authorities, perceived as a diplomatic rejection of Berlin’s proposal, was criticized by the Polish liberal opposition, which blamed it on the anti-German orientation of the conservative nationalists in power.

This orientation was illustrated again recently in the statements of the leader of the ruling party, Yaroslav Kaczyński, who condemned the “German rule” in Europe.

Weapons worth billions of dollars have arrived in Ukraine

NATO member states have already provided Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of weapons to fight the Russian invasion, including modern air defense systems.

Germany supplied Kyiv with the medium-range Iris-T system. But the United States and other NATO allies are shying away from sending the long-range Patriot system to Ukraine.

This American system is a key element of the Alliance’s defense on its eastern flank. Washington has already deployed Patriot missiles in Poland, and Berlin has deployed them in Slovakia.