Poland has announced plans to host a European service center for US-made PAC-3 interceptor missiles to speed up repairs of the globally scarce weapons, which are vital to Ukraine’s defense against Russian ballistic missile attacks.
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, who led Warsaw’s negotiations, called the decision “historic” in a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Three other countries had competed to host the facility, she said, naming Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, Kyiv Post reported.
“This success was not a given. It is the result of many months of negotiations and the hard work of the entire team,” Sobkowiak-Czarnecka wrote, noting that the Polish bid had been the highest rated since the application stage.
According to TVP World citing Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, the hub would be the only one of its kind outside the United States. Its cost would be roughly 1 billion Polish zlotys (about $253 million) and would take about a year to become fully operational.
In her statement, the defense minister thanked Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who appointed her chief negotiator.
The outcome showed what was possible when the government and the country’s President Karol Nawrocki pulled in the same direction, she added.