France will take charge of defending Poland's Rzeszow airport from 1 January, protecting the main hub through which Western aid reaches Ukraine, the French ambassador in Warsaw has said.

Ambassador Etienne de Poncins told reporters on Friday that France would assume responsibility for air defence in the area around Rzeszow-Jasionka airport as part of a NATO mission. It will be the first time French equipment has been used for the task.

"Starting January 1, as part of NATO, France will take charge of air defence in the area around Rzeszow," de Poncins said, according to Reuters. He added that French air defence systems would work jointly with US-made Patriot systems, giving the two allies a chance to test how well their equipment operates together. He did not say how long the French mission would last.

A hub passed between allies

Rzeszow, in south-eastern Poland, is the main logistics point for civilian and military support entering Ukraine. Protecting it has become a rotating NATO task shared between allies.

Dutch Patriot systems are currently defending the airport, after carrying out the mission for just over a year. Sweden is due to take over in December, deploying around 100 soldiers with its own Patriot system, with no fixed end date and preparations to stay at least until mid-2027.

France will then follow in January, in a sequence that underlines how NATO members are sharing the burden of guarding the route that keeps aid flowing to Kyiv. The airport has not faced an imminent threat, according to the Swedish commander of the December deployment, but allied officers describe the mission as necessary while the war continues.