Sweden will deploy a Patriot air defence system and around 100 military personnel to Poland to protect a NATO logistics hub supporting Ukraine, the Swedish Armed Forces said on Tuesday.
The deployment to Rzeszow is scheduled to begin December 1 and will protect the hub against potential drone and missile threats, replacing a mission currently carried out by the Netherlands.
Swedish authorities have approved the operation, which could last up to seven months depending on decisions by the country's next government, public broadcaster SVT reported.
Sweden calls mission its most complex NATO operation
“This is the most complex operation that Sweden has undertaken as a NATO ally,” said Sofia Westermark, commander of Sweden’s Air Defence Regiment.
Westermark said the hub faces threats from both the ground and the air and that Sweden's contribution is intended to strengthen NATO's protection of the facility.
According to SVT, Swedish authorities assess that Russia could seek to disrupt operations at the site, which handles about 18,000 tons of equipment each month.
“This location is extremely important,” Westermark said, describing the flow of equipment through the hub as vital to Ukraine and therefore important to NATO.
Deployment will affect Swedish forces at home
Westermark acknowledged that sending part of Sweden's air-defence capability abroad will affect the country's military posture at home.
“Of course, it affects that part of our force is materially in another location,” she said, adding that Sweden was acting as a NATO member and that “right now we defend NATO best by solving this mission in Poland.”
The deployment comes as NATO allies continue to strengthen protection for critical logistics infrastructure supporting Ukraine amid the ongoing war.
