Russia threatens to strike the new US base in Poland, Warsaw responds

Russia's Foreign Ministry has condemned the opening of a US missile defence base in Poland, labelling it a provocation and threatening a possible strike against the facility. In response, Warsaw dismissed Moscow's claims as inadequate.

As reported by Polish news portal RMF24, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, described the deployment of a US missile defence base in Poland as a provocation, claiming that it fits into a long-standing practice of placing NATO infrastructure closer to Russia's borders.

Zakharova claimed that the deployment "raises the overall level of the nuclear threat" and that Russia considers the base a priority target and would be ready to strike it with its available means "if necessary".

In response, Paweł Wroński, spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry, emphasised that the base is purely defensive in nature.

"Its purpose is to intercept ballistic missiles, particularly from countries whose policies rely on constant threats and declarations of potential invasions. If Russia renews its threats, it means that in the future, the US and NATO will have to strengthen air defences along the entire eastern flank to make such threats unrealistic to carry out," Wroński said.

He added that Russia's threats are based on incorrect assumptions and claims that the base houses nuclear weapons, "which is absurd".

The US missile defence base in Redzikowo, located in Poland's Pomeranian Voivodeship, was officially inaugurated on 13 November. This marks the first permanent facility of the US Army on Polish soil.