Dutch soldiers to take charge of Patriot air defense in Poland
Dutch soldiers are to spend the next six months defending the skies over eastern Poland in what one officer has called “the grey zone between war and peace”. The 300 troops will take control of the Patriot missile defence system from Germany, which has been responsible for responding to potential Russian attacks for the last year. Former commander of the Dutch armed forces, Mart de Kruif, said they would be monitoring the skies “24 hours a day, seven days a week” for ballistic missiles, drones and other objects. “We have seen Nato airspace being infiltrated from the east, often by what we presume to be Russian drones,” De Kruif said. “Nato said at the time: this is the limit. We are going to intensify our air defences.” In September Dutch F-35 fighter jets were involved in shooting down Russian drones that crossed the Polish border during a major aerial attack on Ukraine. Eastern Poland is where Nato stores military hardware that its members have donated to Ukraine and co-ordinates the transport across the border. The Germans did not have cause to engage the Patriots in… Dutch soldiers to take charge of Patriot air defense in Poland





