Poland hailed the deployment of a U.S. Patriot battery and troops on its soil today as an important boost for its national security, but Russia said the move harmed regional "trust and predictability", Reuters reported. The surface-to-air missile battery, which is accompanied by 100 U.S. military personnel, arrived on Sunday at Morag in northern Poland's picturesque Mazurian lake district, about 70 km (50 miles) from Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Its mission is to train Polish troops and it poses no threat to Russia's vast military arsenal, but its presence is hugely symbolic for Poland, which has long complained it hosts no major NATO hardware or troops 11 years after joining the alliance. "We in Poland see the deployment of the Patriot battery here as a move towards strengthening our national security and ties with America," Defence Minister Bogdan Klich told a welcoming ceremony also attended by U.S. Ambassador Lee Feinstein. -- SPA
