Polish Worry They Could Become Russia's Next Target

As the conflict in Ukraine rages, residents of a region in northern Poland worry they could become Russia's next target.

It was gathered that the reason could be because Poland is housing a United States missile facility.

Ryszard Kwiatkowski, the former deputy mayor of the town of Slupsk, which is home to around 90,000 people said in a statement on Friday that, "If a serious armed conflict breaks out, the first strike will target our shield."

"There are no offensive or defensive systems. All military systems are aggressive."

The United States has said the facility in the nearby village of Redzikowo, which will become operational this year, is intended to defend the West from ballistic missiles fired by countries like Iran.

But Russian President, Vladimir Putin spoke out against the facility, saying it is not purely defensive and is instead aimed at Russia.

Kwiatkowski claimed it was absurd to say that the facility was intended as a defense against countries like Iran and warned that missiles based in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad could easily strike Redzikowo.

Also, Tomasz Czescik, a local archaeologist and journalist said; "Until recently, I was not worried about the facility but the assault on Ukraine shows that we cannot be certain about anything."

"Putin has said more than once that this base in Poland, which is just 230 kilometers from the Russian border, should never have been created."

A similar U.S. facility officially called the Aegis Ashore is already up and running in Romania.