Trump suddenly says US will send 5,000 more troops to Poland
US President Donald Trump said on May 21 that the United States would send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, in an apparent reversal of earlier moves to reduce the American military presence in Europe.
Trump linked the move, whose details remain unclear, to his apparently good rapport with Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
“Based on the successful election of the now President of Poland, who I was proud to endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 troops to Poland,” Trump said in a statement issued late in the evening Polish time.
The announcement came several days after US media reported that the Pentagon had cancelled a planned rotational deployment of about 4,000 troops to Poland, a decision that sent shockwaves through Poland, which regards itself as the United States’ most loyal ally in Europe.
The cancelled deployment was to involve the 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas.
According to the Trump administration, the move did not mean an immediate withdrawal of US troops already stationed in Poland, but rather the suspension of the next rotation.
Polish government officials said the decision was temporary and logistical, and posed no threat to Poland’s security.
Polish officials discussed the US troop presence with Trump administration officials in Washington this week. Deputy Minister of National Defence Cezary Tomczyk said after the talks that the United States would maintain a “high military presence” in Poland and that details of the US military presence in Europe would be consulted with Warsaw.
Nawrocki, who was elected in June 2025 with the support of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, is seen as close to the Trump administration, unlike the more pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has been critical of Trump.
The issue emerged after the announcement that several thousand US troops would be withdrawn from Germany.
Nawrocki said earlier this month that he would ask Trump to send the troops to Poland, while Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania also sought an increased US military presence after the Germany withdrawal announcement.
Tusk also said Poland would take “any opportunity” to increase the US military presence in the country, but warned against “poaching” troops from other allies in Europe.
The Pentagon has not said whether Trump’s decision concerns troops that had previously been due to come to Poland under the rotation, or units withdrawn from Germany. It is also unclear whether the move represents a permanent increase in allied forces or part of a troop rotation.
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