Russia says US missile base in Poland is target

(CLO) Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press conference that the US missile defense base in Poland has long been considered a priority target for the Russian Armed Forces to neutralize.

“Given the level of threat posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defense base in Poland has long been on the list of priority targets for neutralization. If necessary, this could be achieved using a variety of advanced weapons,” the diplomat said.

Ms. Zakharova stated that the US-NATO construction project, which has been going on for almost a decade with complete disregard for Russia's security concerns, has always been the focus of Russia's attention. She stressed that Russia has prepared countermeasures in response.

NATO's Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System (AABMDS) in Redzikowo, Poland. Photo: GI

Ms Zakharova described the establishment of such a base as another blatant provocation, calling it part of a “deeply destabilising series of actions by the US and its North Atlantic allies in the strategic sphere”.

Construction of the missile defense facility in Redzikow began in 2016, at a reported cost of $850 million, according to open sources. The facility is scheduled to become operational in December 2023 and will then be handed over to NATO. Following the NATO summit in Washington in July 2024, the military alliance announced the full readiness of the Aegis Ashore complex in Poland.

Amid growing tensions, Hungary is urgently installing an air defense system in the northeast of the country because the threat of an escalation of the Ukraine-Russia war is "greater than ever," according to Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

"We still believe that peace will soon be achieved through diplomacy rather than military solutions," Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said in a video posted on his Facebook late Wednesday.

"However, to prepare for all possibilities, I have ordered the installation of newly purchased air traffic control and air defense systems and the capabilities built on them in the northeast," he said after a meeting of the National Defense Council convened by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss developments in Ukraine.

Hungary, a member of NATO and the European Union, shares a border with Ukraine.

The Hungarian military bought the French Mistral air defense system along with four other EU countries last year. In 2020, Hungary agreed to buy the NASAMS air defense system from Norway's Kongsberg and US weapons maker Raytheon Technologies.

Huy Hoang (according to TASS, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nga-tuyen-bo-can-cu-ten-lua-my-tai-ba-lan-la-muc-tieu-hungary-tang-cuong-phong-khong-post322304.html