US and Polish officials open missile defense site that Russia has long protested

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — U.S. and Polish officials inaugurated a NATO missile defense base in northern Poland on Wednesday, with Polish officials welcoming it as a significant boost to the security of the country as well as of the NATO alliance at a time of war in neighboring Ukraine.

The U.S. missile defense base, which is being integrated into NATO’s defenses, was originally planned under President George W. Bush as a way to protect Europe from ballistic threats from Iran. Poland, however, has always seen it as a form of U.S. protection in case of Russia aggression, fears that have grown since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has long protested the plans, and on Tuesday it denounced the base as a challenge to its own military potential that would require measures “to ensure parity.”

Polish officials, who gathered with the U.S. ambassador and other officials, welcomed it as historic step that increases the U.S. commitment to the security of Europe at a time of uncertainty due to the grinding war nearby. There are also concerns about whether Donald Trump will remain committed to Europe’s security when he returns to the White House in January.

“The whole world will see clearly that this is not Russia’s sphere of interest anymore,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said at the ceremony in Redzikowo. “From the Polish point of view, this is strategically the most important thing.”

Poland’s Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called the opening of the base with its hundreds of U.S. Navy personnel “an extraordinary event in the history of the security of Poland, the U.S. and NATO.” He said the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are showing the importance of air defenses.

“The base in Redzikowo means the eternal presence of American and allied troops on the territory of the Republic of Poland and, strategically for Poland, it is one of the most important events in history after 1989,” he said.

The facility is equipped with the U.S. Navy’s modern Aegis Ashore system, which can detect, track and destroy ballistic missiles in the initial phase of their flight. It is the second land element of Aegis Ashore in Europe after the first such installation went into operation in Romania in 2016.

Asked about the base during a news briefing Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had expressed his concerns to the U.S. plans even during the Bush administration.

“We then insisted that the Americans saying all these plans are aimed against the ephemeral Iranian threat are in fact a lie, that all these plans were drawn up from the very beginning as an attempt to militarily contain our potential,” he said.

“This is the advancement of American military infrastructure on European territory towards our borders. This is nothing other than an attempt to contain our potential. And, of course, this leads to the adoption of appropriate measures to ensure parity,” Peskov added.