Representative of the European Command (EUCOM) of the American armed forces Adam Miller on Wednesday, March 9, announced the transfer to Poland of two batteries of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) Patriot.
“At the direction of the Minister of Defense and at the invitation of our Polish allies, the commander of the European Command of the US Armed Forces, General Walters, ordered the redeployment of two batteries of Patriot air defense systems to Poland,” he said in an interview with the agency.RIA News“.
According to Miller, such a move is preemptive and taken “in order to counter any potential threats to the United States, allied forces and NATO territory.”
“This is a reasonable defensive measure that reinforces our commitment to Article 5 (of the NATO Charter – Ed.) and is in no way intended to support any offensive operations,” the EUCOM representative said.
On the eve of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that NATO is responsible for ensuring that the situation does not escalate outside Ukraine. He noted that if it gets out of control, it will be “even more dangerous, destructive and deadly.” To prevent this from happening, the alliance has strengthened its presence in the East, the Secretary General said.
On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the issue of his country’s membership in NATO is no longer the main one, as the alliance is afraid of a confrontation with Russia. Kyiv will not be “on its knees” to ask for anything, he added.
On March 6, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that NATO would not become a party to the conflict in Ukraine. He said that no ally has sent combat units to Ukraine.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17. In the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including from heavy weapons, was reported. The republics announced a general mobilization, the evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia, and also asked to recognize their independence. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing their sovereignty.
On February 24, the President of Russia announced an operation to protect the civilian population in the Donbass. It pursues several goals – the protection of the civilian population of the DPR and LPR, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. According to the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov, the last two aspects pose a threat to the Russian state and people.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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