The United States may also have asked for a certain number of PAC-3 MSE missiles, which were delivered to Poland and are already owned by the Polish army, to be transferred to the Middle East. However, the outlet notes that it is not yet known how the Polish government will respond in the context of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s recent statement. He said Poland would definitely not send its troops to Iran, but the issue of weapons supplies was not specifically addressed.
Janusz Sejmej, spokesman for the Polish minister of national defense, told the outlet that “the Americans are not exerting any pressure on these matters.”
Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a post on X that “Patriot batteries and their equipment are used to protect Polish skies and NATO’s eastern flank.”
“Nothing has changed in this regard, and we do not plan to redeploy them anywhere! Our allies know and understand how important our tasks here are. Poland’s security is our absolute priority,” Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote.
The Polish army currently has two Patriot system batteries, including 16 launchers. Deliveries of the next six batteries, contracts for which were signed in the fall of 2023, are expected in 2027. Poland has also ordered about 600 PAC-3 missiles for the same timeframe, but these deliveries have not yet begun, and the outlet expressed concern that the war with Iran could cause significant delays in U.S. weapons supplies to Poland.
Earlier, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that a prolonged war in the Middle East benefits Russia, as oil shortages force the United States to ease or lift sanctions on Russian oil. This could allow the Kremlin to obtain funds to continue the war in Ukraine.