Germany offers to send combat jets to Poland

BERLIN

Germany has offered to dispatch fighter planes to boost air patrol over Poland in the aftermath of a missile explosion that killed two people, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

"This can happen tomorrow if Poland wants it," Christian Thiels said at the weekly government news conference in Berlin.

He said the move would be aimed at strengthening air policing with Eurofighter aircraft of the German air force.

“The jets do not have to be relocated to Poland for this. The patrols can be carried out from German air force bases," said the ministry spokesman, adding that the German air force had already done this in July.

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht will discuss this issue with her Polish counterpart later in the day, Thiels said.

According to the spokesman, it is not yet clear how many German Eurofighters would be involved in the air patrol over Poland, saying this has to be discussed with the Polish side.

On Tuesday, a missile strike killed two people on a farm near the western border with Ukraine, however Polish President Andrzej Duda stressed there are no signs of an intentional attack.