U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Washington will deploy an additional 5,000 American troops to Poland, signaling a renewed military commitment to Eastern Europe amid rising tensions with Russia.
The announcement came just one week after the Pentagon reportedly canceled plans to deploy around 4,000 troops to Poland, making Trump’s latest decision a major policy reversal.
Trump said the move was influenced by the election victory of conservative Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom he publicly supported during Poland’s recent presidential race.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump described Poland as a key U.S. ally and stressed the importance of strengthening NATO’s eastern defenses at a time of growing security concerns in the region.
Poland has faced repeated tensions linked to Russia in recent months, including incidents involving Russian drones allegedly entering Polish airspace. NATO and Polish military forces have previously responded to several aerial threats near the border.
Earlier this week, Polish authorities announced the arrest of three individuals suspected of spying for Moscow and preparing sabotage and disinformation campaigns targeting NATO interests.
The Pentagon referred questions about the deployment to the White House, while administration officials had not provided additional details as of Thursday afternoon.
According to estimates from the Council on Foreign Relations, the United States currently has around 80,000 troops stationed across Europe, including approximately 10,000 already based in Poland.
Germany continues to host the largest American military presence in Europe, with more than 38,000 U.S. troops stationed there.
The latest troop deployment is expected to further strengthen NATO’s eastern flank as concerns over Russia’s military activities continue to grow across Europe.
