Russia on Thursday threatened that a new US military base in Poland could be a target for potential “destruction” with a “wide range of advanced weapons”.
Moscow’s latest warning comes after it reportedly launched its first ICBM attack on Ukraine, marking a significant escalation in a prolonged war.
“Given the nature and level of threats posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defence base in Poland has long been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction, which, if necessary, can be executed with a wide range of advanced weapons,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
Moscow said the new US ballistic missile defence base in northern Poland, opened on Nov 13, is part of a series of “deeply destabilising actions” by the US and its military allies under the US-led NATO military alliance.
“This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger,” added the Russian spokesperson.
Poland said recent verbal threats from Moscow only strengthened its case for enhanced NATO defences. Pawel Wronski, Poland’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said the base is “purely for defensive purposes” and does not host “any” nuclear missiles. “Such threats will certainly serve as an argument to strengthen Poland’s and NATO’s air defences and should also be considered by the United States,” said the Polish spokesperson.
The US missile defence base at northern Poland’s Redzikowo is part of a broader NATO missile shield, dubbed “Aegis Ashore,” which the alliance says can intercept short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. According to NATO, the alliance’s missile shield includes sites in Poland and Romania, as well as U.S. Navy destroyers at a naval base in Spain and an early warning radar in Turkey.
Russia’s latest warning comes after outgoing US President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets deep inside the Russian mainland, a long pending demand from Kyiv. Ukraine fired US-supplied ATACMS missiles into Russia for the first time in the war, and Russia responded by tweaking its nuclear doctrine. The new strategic doctrine states that “any aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state that is carried out with the participation or support of a nuclear state will be considered a joint attack”.