The United States has officially opened a new missile base in northern Poland, as Warsaw seeks to reassure citizens that NATO guarantees their security amid jitters after Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.
The main base, located in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic shore, has been in the works since the 2000s. It was formally launched on Wednesday.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who has stressed his warm ties with Trump, was set to attend the opening ceremony alongside NATO representatives.
The Kremlin said the deployment of the missile defence system in Poland showed American military infrastructure advancing towards its borders as part of an attempt to contain Russia militarily.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned on Wednesday that Russia will take measures to ensure “parity” in response, but did not specify what that would be.
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The base at Redzikowo is part of a broader NATO missile shield, called Aegis Ashore, which the military alliance says can intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
Russia had already labelled the base in Poland a threat as far back as 2007, when it was still being planned but NATO says the shield is purely defensive.