The United States will deploy additional 2,500 troops to Poland as it transfers soldiers to Eastern Europe, Pawel Soloch, the head of the Polish National Security Bureau, said on Wednesday.
"We rely on American soldiers, and such negotiations have been held. The US has already declared the other day the transfer of more than 8,000-8,500 soldiers for all of Eastern Europe. It looks like we will have about 2,500 additional soldiers," Soloch told Polskie Radio.
Soloch also said there are currently two plans in development, with one scenario envisaging American soldiers being physically present in Eastern Europe, including in Poland, and the other one considering the creation of a mechanism to deploy significant amount of troops, should there be such a need.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden said that US troops will be moving to Eastern Europe and to NATO countries in the near future. Later, the Pentagon asserted that while additional troops have been put on high alert to prepare for the possibility of being deployed to Eastern Europe, they will not be part of the planned 8,500 contingent designated to support the NATO Response Force in the region.
The increased military assistance from the United States comes in light of the tense situation in Ukraine, with the Western countries accusing Russia of "amassing troops" on the border with Ukraine and claiming that Moscow is preparing to "invade" the neighbouring country.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegations, underlining that Russian troops located within the country's territory do not pose a threat to anyone. Still, the Pentagon continues to assert that "the Russians have no intensions of de-escalating", even though the Ukrainian authorities have stated otherwise.