Poland confirms deployment of 1,000 additional U.S. troops on eastern flank

Warsaw, Poland – Polish officials confirmed that at least 1,000 additional U.S. troops will be deployed in the country to strengthen Poland and NATO’s eastern flank.

Last week, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced that “at least 1,000 new [U.S.] soldiers will be deployed in our country.”

“We will have an American command in Poland. This command will manage the troops deployed along NATO’s eastern flank […] It will be the most important centre for ground forces in our region”, he said, adding that Warsaw and Washington are due to sign the final deal for the deployment “soon”.

U.S. ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher also tweeted last week that the two countries had completed the final negotiations for a new Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement to strengthen military cooperation between the two allies.

Poland has for years been trying to convince the U.S. to increase the American military presence in the country in a bid to strengthen NATO’s eastern border and deter Russian aggression, which Warsaw sees as the main threat to its security.

The topic has been at the center of various bilateral meetings between Donald Trump and Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, who famously dubbed the idea of a permanent U.S. military presence “Fort Trump”. The U.S. President had already suggested in June that the new U.S. troops in Poland could be relocated from Germany, which has come under fire from the U.S. administration for failing to meet NATO’s defence spending target.

Poland, on the other hand, is one of the few EU countries to spend at least 2% of its GDP on defence.

Although both parties had already agreed for a permanent U.S. military presence in Poland last year, the details of the deal, and the share of financial burden-sharing, remained unclear, and still haven’t been revealed in the latest statement.

Blaszczak’s announcement came only one day after the U.S. administration confirmed it would significantly reduce its military presence in neighbouring Germany. According to the Pentagon’s plan, more than 6,000 U.S. military personnel currently stationed there will be sent home, while nearly 5,600 of them could be redeployed to other NATO countries, including Italy, Belgium, and Poland.

Poland already has more than 4,000 U.S. troops based in the country on a rotational basis.