There is some important part of this story which is not being understood. The US insists on building a "missile defense shield". This is a technology which doesn't work (and probably never will). It is, ostensibly, directed at a state (Iran) which doesn't constitute a threat. Not even the prospect of big military contracts to build this system can explain the US position.

Similarly why should Russia care if the US installs a non-functional system?

There is only one conclusion that I can draw: the stated purpose and the real purpose are entirely different. Both the US and Russia know what the real purpose is, but, for some reason, are unwilling to let the public in either country (or in the countries hosting the system) in on the secret. I've seen this type of misdirection happen before, and have never been smart enough to figure out what was really going on at the time.

I'll just to toss out a random conjecture on what might be behind this program. The US has been quietly militarizing space in violation of international treaties. The seriousness with which anti-satellite tests by China and others were met shows that something is going on. We know that the US is using satellites for command and control, but we don't know about actual weapons in space. A project like "Rods from God" which involves dropping metal cylinders from space are easily hidden.

So, with this militarization program at risk from anti-satellite system, it becomes necessary to have an alternative command and control operation. The radars and other equipment placed in Eastern Europe would be close enough to the Middle East to allow their use in controlling operations in the region, especially aerial drones and unmanned surface vehicles. Such a guidance system would change the balance of power in the region and reduce Russia's influence over Iran and other nearby states.

As I said this is only a conjecture, but I'm pretty sure that whatever is being built, it isn't an anti-missile "shield".

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape