Polish Radio
December 24, 2022

US Patriot system to be launched in Ukraine in a few months: official

US Patriot air defence system is to become operational in Ukraine in a few months, according to a Ukrainian military expert.

Oleksandr Musiyenko told Polish Radio that it might take between 3 and 5 months to train Ukrainian troops in using the new missile battery, and to fully integrate it into Ukraine’s air defences.

Musiyenko also added that while the Patriot air defence systems that are to be delivered to Ukraine are the most up to date version, more is needed….

“To defend our whole territory, we need six Patriot missile batteries,” Musiyenko said, as quoted by Polish Radio.

Earlier this week, the US Department of Defense announced a new USD 1.85 billion security assistance package, which includes a Patriot air defense system and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), in addition to 50,000 GRAD rockets and more than 200,000 rounds of various types of ammunition.

Washington will also provide Kyiv with “500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds; 10 120mm mortar systems and 10,000 120mm mortar rounds; 10 82mm mortar systems; 10 60mm mortar systems; 37 Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles; 120 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs); and six armored utility trucks,” the Pentagon said.

Other equipment includes “high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs); precision aerial munitions; over 2,700 grenade launchers and small arms; Claymore anti-personnel munitions; demolition munitions and equipment; night vision devices and optics; tactical secure communications systems; and body armor and other field equipment,” according to the statement.

The new security assistance package was announced as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting the United States on Wednesday….

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Polish Press Agency
December 23, 2022

Deployment of Patriots from Germany to take 2-3 months max says dep MoD

Intense arrangements are being made for the Patriot air defence system from Germany to be placed at a specified location in Poland, a deputy minister of defence said on Friday.

Wojciech Skurkiewicz told Polish Radio One that the Patriot anti-aircraft systems offered by Germany could begin operating on Polish territory “at the beginning of next year.” He added: “It’s a matter of two to three months maximum.”

Site inspections and meetings between “both Polish and German military officials,” had already taken place in Poland, the deputy defence minister pointed out. “Deputy Prime Minister (also Defence Minister – PAP) Mariusz Blaszczak is in steady contact with German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht and they are talking.”

Skurkiewicz noted that the most important issue for the Polish side was that the missile batteries be “linked with Poland’s defence system” and added that he could not imagine the German sets functioning independently from Polish weaponry.

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Polish Press Agency
December 22, 2022

Polish MoD praises US decision to send Patriot air defence to Ukraine

The Polish defence minister has said that the US decision to offer a Patriot air defence system to Ukraine will help that country….

Ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington on Wednesday, the Biden administration said it would provide another USD 1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including the Patriot air defence system.

“The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party political camp was right again while saying that the Patriots, offered to Poland by Germany, should be sent to Ukraine,” Mariusz Blaszczak told reporters on Thursday.

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“When we said that the Patriots should go to Ukraine, we were thinking about the security of Poland, the security of Ukraine, and the security of the entire eastern flank of Nato,” the minister said.

According to Blaszczak, Poland’s proposal started a discussion. “And, today, we can say with satisfaction that the US decided to send the Patriots to Ukraine.”

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Blaszczak also said that Poland had ordered the Patriot system in 2018 and that the first launchers were already in the country.