“Some 4,600 soldiers have deployed so far,” a spokesman for the US Army told Poland’s PAP news agency on Thursday.
Over the past two weeks, the Pentagon has decided to send an additional 4,700 troops to Poland as part of a temporary mission to fortify NATO’s eastern flank.
The deployment comes from the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Scott Ghiringhelli, spokesman for the United States European Command (USEUCOM), said that “these troops constitute a highly mobile and flexible force, capable of conducting many missions.”
He added: “They have been sent to allay the concerns of our NATO allies, deter potential aggression against NATO’s eastern flank, train together with host country forces and take part in a wide range of emergencies.”
Earlier this month, in response to Russia’s military encirclement of Ukraine, Washington decided to deploy more than 6,000 soldiers to the Western military alliance’s eastern edge, chiefly to Poland, the PAP news agency reported.
In recent weeks, NATO members including Britain, Germany, Spain and Denmark have sent additional troops to Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic states, according to officials.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP