The United States is opening an air defense base in Poland today

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Photo: US Navy

November 13, the United States opens an air defense base in Poland to protect NATO countries

This was reported by LIGA.net with reference to Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

"It took some time, but this construction proves the geostrategic determination of the United States. The Polish-American alliance is strong, regardless of who rules in Warsaw and Washington," Sikorski said.

Also, the newspaper cited Wiadomosci as saying that the base is not able to protect against threats from Russia, as it was developed ten years ago to protect against Iran. The missile defense systems are capable of intercepting a small number of medium-range missiles (about 1-5 thousand kilometers) from the Middle East.

Photo: US Navy

The Aegis Ashore air defense base is located in the north of Poland in the city of Redzikowo, near the Baltic Sea coast. Its construction began in 2016. It is part of NATO's wider missile defense system. According to the Alliance, the base will be capable of intercepting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. Russia called this air defense base a threat back in 2007, when it was only at the planning stage.

The publication also notes that on October 13, Sikorski said that he hoped for permission from the United States to shoot down Russian missiles using this base. However, on October 31, the Polish Foreign Ministry reported that some NATO countries and the United States are against shooting down Russian missiles. But Sikorski hopes to convince them.

Earlier it was said that Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski believes that the UN will be able to holda "fair referendum" in the temporarily occupied Crimea. During a speech at the 20th annual YES meeting in Kyiv, Radoslaw Sikorski proposed to place Crimea under the United Nations mandate to hold a referendum there. For its part, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people criticized the Polish Foreign Minister's proposal.