The dismissal comes after Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the base in Redzikowo near the Baltic coast was “another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilizing actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic Alliance in the strategic sphere.

“This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger.”

She added that a strike on the base could be carried out using the latest military technology and that it was on a “possible target list.”

In response, Sikorski said the comments were “nothing new” and that “Russia has about 6,000 nuclear warheads, so it has enough to destroy the entire globe several times in a row.”

Poland’s foreign ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski added that the base, which was opened on November 13 as part of a broader NATO missile shield, did not have nuclear missiles and that it was purely for defense.

He said: “It is a base that serves the purpose of defense, not attack.

“Such threats will certainly serve as an argument to strengthen Poland's and NATO's air defenses and should also be considered by the United States.”