Conflicts

A new missile defense base in Poland is causing Moscow to tremble. Located 230km from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, it's provoking strong reactions from the Kremlin.

On Wednesday, the Redzikowo base was inaugurated in Poland, completing a system already present in Romania, Spain and Turkey. It forms part of a US ballistic missile defense system, including a network of missile interceptors and radars. This is a collective defense project of the Atlantic Alliance, which Washington set up 15 years ago. Its aim is to protect the Alliance “against ballistic missile threats emanating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area, notably from Iran”, according to BFMTV.

At a ceremony at the Redzikowo base, attended by US military chiefs and senior Polish officials, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland's Minister of Defense, enthusiastically declared: “This is an event of historic importance for the security of Poland, the United States and Nato.”

Russia has always been hostile to NATO's deployment in Europe, fearing for its security. Despite NATO's assurances that this defense project doesn't target it in any way, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, claims that it is “an advance of American military infrastructure in Europe towards our borders” which “will lead to appropriate measures being taken to ensure parity”.

(MH with Manon Pierre - Source : BFMTV - Illustration : Unsplash)