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| Germany Refuses to Deliver MIM-104 Patriot Missile System to Ukraine |
Berlin - Germany finally explained why it rejected Poland's proposal to deliver the US-made MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system to Ukraine, instead of sending it to Poland.
"Germany doesn't have the authority to do it alone," a top State Department official told Voice of America on Saturday. "The Patriot system is part of NATO's collective defense system," Tobias Lindner, secretary of state parliament for Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the media outlet.
The official explained that Berlin did not have Patriot missiles that could simply be handed over to a third party, such as Ukraine. Germany instead suggested strengthening Poland's security by sending an air defense system to NATO's eastern border.
The idea of sending a US-made missile system directly to Ukraine was floated by Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak in late November. “Such measures will protect Ukraine from power outages resulting from Russian attacks on its infrastructure and will improve security on our eastern border,” Blaszczak argued.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht rejected the idea, arguing the Patriots were also part of NATO's defence. "That fact means they are intended to be deployed on NATO territory," he said in late November. "Any use of the missile outside NATO territory will require discussion at NATO level," he said.
Blaszczak said earlier this week he was "disappointed" by Germany's decision to reject his proposal. He added that Poland would now follow the original plan and work to integrate the Patriots into its command system.
Germany offered to bolster Poland's defenses after a missile crashed in the east of the country in November, killing two people. Although Ukrainian officials and some Western media were quick to blame the incident on Russia, Polish President Andrzej Duda later said the projectiles were likely launched by Ukrainian air defense forces and deviated from their course.