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Two security signals from Kyiv and Warsaw
Summary
On 28 March 2018, a former Ukrainian president urged military options on Russia while Poland committed to a major US missile purchase.
What did security in Eastern Europe look like on 28 March 2018? Two separate developments pointed to a sharpened mood in the region.
In reaction to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko called for military action against Russia to be considered. Yushchenko was himself the victim of a poisoning in September 2004, and he spoke from that experience.
The same day, Poland signed a deal with the United States to buy a Patriot missile system worth US$4.75 billion. The agreement was a major step in the relationship between Warsaw and Washington.
Two reactions, one day
The two items were unconnected in their origin: one was a political response to a poisoning, the other a defence procurement contract. Together they showed security debates in Ukraine and Poland on the same date, one voiced as a call for options against Russia, the other expressed through the purchase of air-defence hardware.
