U.S. and Polish officials have opened a new NATO missile defense base in northen Poland. Polish officials welcomed it as a significant boost to the security of the nation and the wider NATO region at a time of war in neighboring Ukraine.

"The Polish-American alliance is strong, regardless of who governs in Warsaw and Washington," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.

A long-planned US missile defence base was officially opened in northern Poland on Wednesday. The military base in Redzikowo is located about a hundred kilometres west of Gdansk and is part of NATO's missile defence system on the continent.