The United States inaugurated a new missile base in northern Poland on Wednesday, drawing praise from Polish officials and criticism from Moscow.
Situated near the Baltic municipality of Redzikowo, the development of the facility had been under consideration since 2002, initially intended as a site to defend Europe and the U.S. against Middle Eastern ballistic missile threats.
The defense complex is set to house the U.S. Navy's Aegis Combat System, an advanced platform designed to detect and neutralize projectiles shortly after launch. It will be the Pentagon’s second Aegis battery in Europe, following its 2016 deployment to the Deveselu Military Base in Romania.
“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,” remarked Warsaw’s Defense Minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, during the ceremonies attended by President Andrzej Duda and U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed this expansion of NATO forces near Russia’s borders in a press briefing, describing the action as “an attempt to militarily contain our potential,” before warning that the Kremlin may institute “appropriate measures to ensure parity.”
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