Russia has reacted with anger to the opening of a new US missile base in Poland, claiming that they will be forced to up their own military presence on the border to balance out the new perceived threat.
Moscow is now threatening to increase its military installations in the region to ensure “parity” with NATO amid simmering tensions relating to the war in Ukraine.
On November 13, the Redzikowo missile base in the north of Poland was officially opened by Polish President Andrzej Duda and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
In a video statement, Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said it was “the first permanent US military installation on Polish soil”.
“The project for the base was initiated by Republican [former] president George Bush. It commenced under Democrat [former president] Barack Obama, continued under Republican Donald Trump [during his first term as president] and was ultimately completed during the [current] presidency of Democrat Joe Biden,” the representative said.
“It took some time, but this project is proof of the geo-strategic consistency of the United States.”
Poland’s top diplomat also explained that the agreement under which the base in Redzikowo had been set up “ensures the missile defence system protects both the United States and Poland”.
Russian President Vladmir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed the inauguration of the new facility.
“The opening of the US missile defence base in Polish Redzikowo means that US military infrastructure has moved in the direction of our border and this affects our military’s development,” he said.
“The change in the balance of forces will inevitably lead us to act in order to ensure parity in the area.”
Russia has consistently opposed the base, arguing that the system it is to use, Aegis Ashore, could be used to launch missile assaults. Moscow has warned frequently that the construction of the base would lead to retaliation such as the location of additional Russian forces in the enclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania.
The first administration of Donald Tusk (2007-2015) was lukewarm on the idea of the construction of the missile base. At the time, Poland was supportive of the “reset” with Russia initiated by the US Obama administration and felt the base would make improving relations with Moscow more difficult.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there has been a consensus in Poland that increasing US presence in the country would serve as a guarantee of national security.
For NATO, the base and the missile shield project it is a part of are important in combating ballistic threats from the Middle East. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they are also meant to increase NATO’s strength on its eastern flank.
Polish military expert Marek Świerczyński of political analysts Polityka Insight said he had doubts about whether the base enhanced Polish security.
The expert warned that the base is concentrated on intercepting and destroying long-range ballistic missiles and does not include the capacity to defend against shorter-range Iskander missiles that could be used tactically by Russia and Belarus.
“The Redzikowo base has been designed to counter the threat from Iran rather than Russia… I hope that Polish authorities are asking the US about how this helps Poland to combat the Russian threat,” he said.
Świerczyński added that was why Poland was developing its missile defence capacity via the purchase of Patriot and HIMARS systems from the US as well as lobbying Washington for an increase in the capacity of Redzikowo for defending against shorter-range missiles.
He admitted, though, that the rocket launchers installed at Redzikowo could potentially be used to launch offensive missiles such as Tomahawks.
When NATO accepted the countries of Central and Eastern Europe into its ranks, it had promised Russia that there would be no US military installations in the region.
Now, as a result of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and its military build-up, NATO has shifted its position and military installations are now present in the region, with around 10,000 US soldiers stationed in Poland.
