Moscow threatened Poland over a new air defense base opened close to the Russian border

On November 21st, Russian Foreign Ministry official Maria Zakharova warned Poland that a newly opened NATO air defense base on its territory was a priority target for potential destruction.

The United States opened a new permanent military base in Poland on the 13th of November after more than a decade of planning and work. It was a move that angered Moscow and only heightened the rising tensions in the region following recent geopolitical developments in Ukraine. 

"This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilizing actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic Alliance in the strategic sphere," Zakharova explained according to Reuters. "This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger."

"Given the nature and level of threats posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defense base in Poland has long been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction, which, if necessary, can be executed with a wide range of advanced weapons," Zakharova added.

Located near the small Polish town of Redzikowo, the new air defense base is just under 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Poland’s border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad according to Newsweek. The new base is meant to protect NATO member states from possible missile threats. 

Russia houses a powerful military presence in Kaliningrad, which is stuck between the NATO states of Latvia and Poland. The Russian territory serves as a flashpoint for any potential conflict between Moscow and NATO. 

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski praised the opening of a permanent missile defense base on Polish territory in a video published on X by Poland’s Foreign Ministry, noting it was the first permanent U.S. military presence in the country. 

“On matters of security and foreign policy, Poland’s political elites remain united,” the Polish Foreign Ministry explained in its post, adding that the Polish-American alliance was strong regardless of who was in office. 

Photo Credit: X @PolandMFA

Reuters reported that the election of Donald Trump back into office has “caused jitters” among some NATO allied member states. However, Warsaw noted work on the Redzikowo base by successive U.S. Presidents showed their alliance with Washington was solid. 

The Redzikowo missile defense base has been in development since the 2000s when President George W. Bush signed off on its plans for the base, which were handed off to successive Democratic and Republican administrations.

President Barack Obama and Donald Trump continued work on the Redzikowo base and construction of the advanced missile defense installation was finished by Joe Biden and his administration in 2024. 

According to Reuters, the Redzikowo missile defense base was designed to intercept short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles and is part of a much larger NATO missile defense shield that includes sites in Romania, Spain, and Turkey. 

Poland signed an agreement in 2008 agreeing to the installation of the permanent base and construction began in 2016 according to Army Technology. But what weapons does the Redzikowo base have on-site?

As a missile defense installation, the Redzikowo base is a defensive installation, and as such, it contains a wide variety of anti-missile weapons, including the AN/SPY-1 radar, Mk 41 VLS launcher, and Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) antiballistic missiles.  

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Hpeterswald, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

“The whole world will see clearly that this is not Russia's sphere of interest anymore,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said at the inauguration ceremony for the new missile base in Redzikowo according to ABC News. 

“From the Polish point of view, this is strategically the most important thing,” Redzikowo went on to say. Poland’s Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called the base “an extraordinary event in the history of the security of Poland, the U.S. and NATO.”

“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," Kosiniak-Kamysz added.

Russia has taken issue with the Redzikowo plans since at least 2007 according to several reports. Kremlin Press Dmitry Peskov responded to the opening of the new missile base with concern when asked about the situation by reporters during a briefing. 

“This is the advancement of American military infrastructure on European territory towards our borders. This is nothing other than an attempt to contain our potential. And, of course, this leads to the adoption of appropriate measures to ensure parity,” Peskov added. 

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