The decision to put Patriot missiles in Poland has been criticized by Russia, which claimed that the move has put regional security and trust in jeopardy.

A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry said, "Such military activity does not help to strengthen our mutual security, to develop relations of trust and predictability in this region."

The United States opened a temporary military base near Morąg, just 80 km from the Kaliningrad oblast of Russia, where a Patriot surface-to-air missile battery arrived Monday following the US-Polish Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

''We asked America and Poland about this, but did not get a concrete or valid answer ... unfortunately, neither Americans nor Polish accepted our arguments," the ministry said.

Moscow relies heavily on strategic nuclear missiles for defense, so it is highly sensitive to the deployment of anti-missile systems such as the Patriot battery.

“We stated earlier that we cannot understand the logic and targets of the cooperation between the United States and Poland in this sphere,” the source said.

The battery will be manned by up to 150 US troops, who will be stationed on a rotating basis for two years before the base becomes permanent in 2012. The stated mission of the program is to train Polish military personnel in the use of the Patriot missiles.

Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich officially opened the Polish base on Wednesday.

Julian Petris