MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. The US missile defense base in Redzikowo, northern Poland, could be used to defend the country and its allies in Russia, among other things, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said. TVN24 television channel on Thursday.

“Poland will be defended,” said the minister, answering the host’s question. “At first, it was directed against Iran and North Korea. However, the blacklist has been expanded, and now it includes Russia.”

At the same time, the official dodged the direct question of whether the facility is capable of protecting Poland from Russian missiles.

“It provides protection against specific types of missiles. The system will be very versatile, that’s all I can say,” he said.

On 11 October, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski mentioned an agreement with the US for the Redzikowo base to “shoot down Russian missiles flying towards Poland, not just Iranian missiles flying towards the US”.

The opening ceremony of the Redzikowo missile defense base took place on 11 November, attended by Polish President Andrzej Duda, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz. The US was represented by Admiral Stuart Munsch, Commander of US Naval Forces Europe and Africa; and Ambassador to Warsaw Mark Brzezinski.

The Redzikowo base is the first permanent US military base in Poland.

It hosts an Aegis Ashore system and is part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach program for the deployment of missile defense components in Europe. The program also includes Aegis radar-equipped ships based in Rota, Spain, an AN/TPY-2 radar station in Turkey (in combat service since 2011) and another Aegis Ashore site at the Deveselu base in Romania.

Construction of the Redzikowo site began in 2016. According to publicly available sources, it cost $850 million. Initially, it was planned to put the base into operation in 2018, but the construction was postponed. The site was not ready to operate until December 2023. The process of transferring it to NATO followed. At the NATO summit in Washington in July 2024, the alliance announced the full operational readiness of the Aegis Ashore system in Poland.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the advance of US military infrastructure in Europe towards Russia’s borders was “nothing but an attempt to limit our military potential”. “Of course, this requires taking appropriate measures to maintain parity,” the spokesman added.