After Kh-101 Crash in Poland, Warsaw to Consider Transferring Patriot Missiles to Ukraine

Warsaw will soon consider providing Ukraine with additional missiles for its Patriot air defense systems.

According to Ukrinform, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk made the announcement during a press conference at the site where a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crashed.

“Following this incident, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, we will promptly consider further military assistance to Ukraine, including the transfer of additional missiles for Patriot air defense systems, should such a need arise,” Tusk said.

Tusk stressed that no country in the world has completely secure airspace.

“There is no airspace – whether in the United States, Israel, Ukraine, or Russia – that is 100 percent secure,” he said.

As previously reported, on the morning of July 30, during a Russian attack on Ukraine, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile flew nearly 100 kilometers into Polish territory, where it crashed in Lublin Voivodeship.

A crater was discovered in a field near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia in Biłgoraj County, Lublin Voivodeship.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Poland has transferred five PAC-3 MSE missiles to Ukraine.

At the time, Poland’s defense minister said the number of missiles provided represented “the limit of our capabilities” and “does not affect Poland’s air defense capabilities.”

Previous transfers of Patriot missiles have also sparked political controversy in Poland.
In the context of the Kh-101 missile crash, Tusk may have been referring to PAC-2 missiles, which are designed to intercept aerodynamic targets, such as cruise missiles and aircraft.