Poland Plays Down US Troop Withdrawal Fears

Poland on Tuesday insisted US troops would remain on its territory, after the United States announced it would reposition personnel from a key base near the Ukrainian border.

US troops have been in Jasionka in southeastern Poland since just before Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

Most military aid to Kyiv passes through EU member state Poland, a NATO member and staunch Ukraine supporter, and in particular its Jasionka hub.

The US army announced on Monday that “the planned repositioning of US military equipment and personnel from Jasionka, Poland, to other sites in the country.”

“The decision to reposition troops and equipment reflects months of assessment and planning, coordinated closely with Polish hosts and NATO Allies,” US Army Europe and Africa’s public affairs office said in the statement.

The army did not specify how many troops will leave Jasionka nor where they will move to.

Polish President Andrzej Duda insisted on Tuesday that the move was “not a withdrawal of the army” while Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz also sought to reassure Poles of the continued US presence.

“US troops will stay in Poland, but in other locations,” he said on social network X.

“The tasks shouldered by US troops in Jasionka until now are being taken over by other allies,” he added.

Kosiniak-Kamysz said that NATO “is taking over responsibility for Jasionka’s operations” and that the decision was made at the defense alliance’s Washington summit in July 2024.

Some 10,000 American soldiers are currently on rotation in Poland.