US opens missile base in Poland as Trump’s presidency bypasses NATO By Reuters
WARSAW (Reuters) – The United States will officially open a new air defense base in northern Poland on Wednesday, as Warsaw seeks to reassure citizens that NATO is guaranteeing their safety amid turmoil following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.
Located in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, the base has been active since the 2000s and Warsaw says it shows that Poland’s military alliance with Washington remains strong, regardless of who is in the White House.
“It took time, but this construction proves the determination of the United States,” said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in a video posted to X on Tuesday.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, an expert who has emphasized his warm relationship with Trump, will attend the inauguration of the base, which the Kremlin calls a bid to contain Russia by removing American military infrastructure near its borders.
Trump’s past criticism has alarmed other NATO members, as he has vowed that the United States under his leadership will not protect countries that do not spend enough money on defense.
However, Poland says it has nothing to fear, as the alliance’s huge defense spending is comparable to the size of its economy.
MISSILE SHIELD
The US base in Redzikowo is part of NATO’s wider missile shield, called “Aegis Ashore”, which the alliance says can intercept short- to medium-range ballistic missiles.
Other key elements of the shield include a second site in Romania, US naval destroyers based in the Spanish port of Rota and an early warning radar in the Turkish city of Kurecik.
Moscow had already listed the base as a threat since 2007, when it was still being planned.
NATO says the shield is only protective.
Military sources told Reuters that the Polish system can now only be used to counter missiles launched in the Middle East and the radar will need to change to intercept projectiles from Russia, a complex process that involves a change in policy.
The Minister of Defense in Poland, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, said on Monday that the width of this shield must be increased, which Warsaw will discuss with NATO and the United States.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will meet Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw later on Wednesday.
