Photo: Alamy
U.S. troops will restart rotational deployments to Poland after a temporary pause earlier this year, according to Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
Kosiniak-Kamysz announced Monday that the rotational presence of American forces in Poland would continue in the coming weeks after the Pentagon paused a planned troop deployment in May.
“The rotational presence of American troops in Poland, which was suspended a few weeks ago, is being resumed,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said. “It will continue, and in the coming weeks this process will be fully implemented.”
The earlier pause came amid disagreements between the United States and several European NATO allies over defense spending and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The announcement coincides with President Donald Trump’s trip to Ankara, Turkey, for this week’s NATO summit, where defense spending, alliance commitments, and regional security are expected to dominate discussions. President Trump is also expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the gathering.
Trump has repeatedly called on NATO members to increase defense spending and argued that European allies should shoulder a greater share of the alliance’s security burden.
The administration’s renewed troop rotation to Poland comes as the country continues to serve as a key hub for NATO’s eastern flank and for military support operations related to the war in Ukraine.
The debate over NATO’s mutual defense commitments also continues in the United States. A recent internal NATO poll found that 43 percent of U.S. adults were confident alliance members would come to America’s defense if the country were attacked.
The Pentagon paused the deployment of troops to Poland in May, according to The Hill, prompting pushback from lawmakers. The outlet noted that there are currently about 10,000 U.S. troops stationed in Poland.
NATO’s collective defense provision, known as Article V, has been invoked only once in the alliance’s history, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
