Poland’s recent donation of Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine was made at the request of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the US military command in Europe, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said Monday.
“At the request of the NATO secretary general and U.S. forces in Europe, following consultations with the user group, a decision was taken to donate Patriot missiles,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters in Warsaw.
The minister said the number of missiles transferred represented only “a margin” of Poland’s capabilities and would not affect the country’s air defense readiness.
He added that the decision had been discussed with the president’s office and Poland’s National Security Bureau and “did not come as a surprise” to either institution.
The disclosure came after criticism from allies of President Karol Nawrocki, who questioned the government’s decision to provide Patriot missiles to Ukraine amid continued Russian missile and drone attacks.
Kosiniak-Kamysz also dismissed reports that Poland had surrendered its place in the queue for new Patriot missile production in the US to Ukraine.
“We were neither asked to do so nor did we take such a decision,” he said.
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