According to the spokesperson, the countries have been informed of the plans. The deployment in Poland should end in June, while the one in Slovakia ends by the end of the year.
Berlin offered to send Patriot units to Poland after two men were killed by a stray Ukrainian missile that hit the Polish village of Przewodów last November. The deployment of Patriots to Slovakia shortly after the outbreak of war in Ukraine was intended to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank.
During the Cold War, Germany had 36 Patriot units. The German armed forces currently have eleven Patriots at their disposal.