Copyright kyivpost
Poland has not been informed of any potential cuts to the United States’ military presence on its soil, the country’s defense minister has said, after Washington announced plans to scale back troop numbers along NATO’s eastern flank. The U.S. confirmed on Wednesday that it will slash its presence in Romania, with the number of American troops in the country expected to drop from around 2,000 to 1,000. Since returning to power in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has urged European countries to take more responsibility for their own defense, prompting fears that the American military’s footprint on the continent could be significantly decreased. In Poland, where some 10,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed, the country’s defense minister said he had not received warning of a withdrawal or a reduction in numbers. However, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz commented that the decision to cut troops in Romania was not surprising, given earlier announcements that Washington was reviewing the deployment of American troops abroad. “What we care about is the presence of U.S. forces in Poland,” he said, adding that Warsaw spends around $15,000 annually per U.S. soldier. “This is shared responsibility. Here we are different from some of our allies. You won’t find in Europe, even in countries with 37,000 American troops, like Germany, such conditions and support for the presence of U.S. forces,” the minister continued, describing Poland and the U.S. as “ironclad allies.” Reassurances for Warsaw Potential cuts to U.S. troops in Eastern Europe have been a key talking point in recent months. When Polish President Karol Nawrocki met Trump in September, the U.S. president assured him that Washington would maintain its military presence in Poland and could even increase it. Warsaw, which spends the highest percentage of its GDP on defense in NATO, has often earned praise from Trump, but he has regularly criticized other European nations for lagging behind in military spending. The decision to slash numbers in Romania decision comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine approaches its fourth winter and follows a series of NATO airspace violations by Russian aircrafts and drones. However, the United States military said on Wednesday that the move not to replace departing troops in Romania does not signal a withdrawal from Europe. “The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division will re-deploy as scheduled to their Kentucky-based home unit without replacement,” U.S. Army Europe said. “This is not an American withdrawal from Europe or a signal of lessened commitment to NATO and Article 5,” it continued, adding that “this force posture adjustment will not change the security environment in Europe”. “Our NATO allies are meeting President Trump’s call to take primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe,” the statement further added. Republican criticism Despite the reassurances, the move has sparked criticism within the U.S., with two top Republican lawmakers who lead the congressional committees overseeing the Pentagon issuing a rare joint statement slamming the Trump administration. Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the decision was “uncoordinated and directly at odds with the President’s strategy.” “We strongly oppose the decision not to maintain the rotational U.S. brigade in Romania,” they said in the statement. Earlier, Romanian Defense Minister Ionut Moșteanu denied that Bucharest was left weakened by the departure of American troops, pointing out that 1,000 U.S. soldiers would still be stationed in the country, alongside some 2,500 personnel from other NATO countries. “Expecting that entire armies will be stationed in Romania to defend us is unrealistic,” he told Adevărul, one of Romania’s major national newspapers. A NATO official told Reuters that “adjustments to U.S. force posture are not unusual” and “even with this adjustment, the U.S. force posture in Europe remains larger than it has been for many years.” NATO’s eastern flank, which includes Poland, Romania and the Baltic states, is considered strategically vital, facing the highest potential military threat from Russia. The region has been on edge since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
