On Wednesday, November 13, the United States officially launched a new anti-missile defense base in northern Poland, indicating that the change in political power with President Trump’s victory in the 2024 election will not affect NATO’s security commitments.
The Polish government stated that this demonstrates that the military alliance between Warsaw and Washington remains strong regardless of which party is in power in the White House.
Located in the town of Redzikowo on the Baltic Sea coast, the construction of this anti-missile defense base has been in preparation since the 2000s.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski posted a video on social media on Tuesday, saying, “The construction took some time, but it proves the strategic determination of the United States.”
President Andrzej Duda of Poland announced that he will attend the official inauguration ceremony of the base. The conservative president is considered a close ally of Trump.
The Kremlin interprets this move as the United States relocating military infrastructure to the border with Russia through Poland to contain Russia.
The U.S. base in Redzikowo is part of the broader NATO missile defense construction known as “Aegis Ashore.” NATO states that this defense system can intercept short to medium-range ballistic missiles.
Other key defense facilities of the United States include a second base in Romania, U.S. Navy destroyers stationed in the port of Rota in Spain, and an early warning radar in the town of Kurecik in Turkey.
As early as 2007, Moscow viewed the Redzikowo base as a threat when it was still in the planning stages.
NATO has stated that this shield is purely defensive in nature.
Military sources told Reuters that Poland’s air defense system currently can only defend against missiles from the Middle East, and the radar needs to be repositioned to intercept missiles from Russia, which is a complex process requiring policy changes.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated on Monday that the coverage of this shield needs to be expanded, and Warsaw will discuss this matter with NATO and the United States.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will visit Warsaw later on Wednesday to hold a meeting with Duda and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.