Their aim is to contribute to the protection of Polish airspace and to strengthen the military alliance NATO’s eastern flank, the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, announced on Friday.

The deployment will begin in the small German town of Gnoien, north of Berlin.

The air defence systems are to move into operational positions near the city of Zamość in south-eastern Poland, around 60 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

Since January 16, Bundeswehr soldiers have been stationed in Poland to ensure that the weapon systems are received together with the Polish alliance partners.

After a missile strike on Polish territory in November, the then defence minister Christine Lambrecht and her Polish counterpart Mariusz Błaszczak had agreed that German Patriot missile defence systems would be moved to Poland.

Błaszczak caused considerable disgruntlement in Berlin in the meantime because he suggested that the Patriots would be better stationed in Ukraine.

In the meantime, it has become clear that three fire units will come to Poland after all. Germany will also transfer a Patriot air defence system to Ukraine to support the country in its defensive struggle against Russia.