President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United States will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland. The decision marks a swift shift in direction following a string of recent moves by his administration to scale back the American military presence across Europe.
The surprise announcement comes just one week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth halted a scheduled combat team rotation through Poland. The Pentagon stated that the cancellation stemmed from frustration with European nations that have “not stepped up when America needed them.” It also follows Trump’s decision earlier this month to pull 5,000 U.S. troops out of Germany after its Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, angered Trump by claiming the U.S. was being “humiliated” in its war with Iran.
Trump explicitly tied the new Polish deployment to his close relationship with Warsaw’s recently elected right-wing populist President, Karol Nawrocki.
“Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, 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 posted online.
READ: Pentagon Alters European Troop Plans, Cancels Rotational Deployments To Poland And Germany
Nawrocki, who was elected in June 2025 and visited Trump in the Oval Office last September, expressed his gratitude on social media, calling the U.S.-Poland alliance “a vital pillar of security for every Polish home and for all of Europe.” He added that “good alliances are those based on cooperation, mutual respect, and a commitment to our shared security.”
Despite the announcement, official statements from Warsaw suggest the move may simply restore previously cut numbers rather than expand the total U.S. footprint. Poland typically hosts around 10,000 American soldiers and has served as the primary gateway for Western military aid into neighboring Ukraine since 2022.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski thanked Trump for the “announcement that the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.” Speaking to reporters ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden on Friday, Sikorski remarked, “All’s well that ends well.”
Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz echoed this view, telling reporters, “One thing is certain, Poland is certainly not losing what it had – around 10,000 soldiers.”
The shifting numbers have triggered confusion regarding overall U.S. military strategy in the region. Just days ago, a memo signed by Hegseth cut roughly 5,000 personnel from Europe. That directive canceled the deployment of the 4,700-soldier 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, which was slated to rotate through Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states. It also scrapped a future German deployment for a 500-soldier long-range rocket battalion. The sudden cancellations drew sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers, who argued that Poland had been “blindsided” by the Pentagon.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is attending the NATO summit in Sweden to push for “increased defense investment and greater burden sharing,” downplayed any friction. Rubio told reporters that troop movements are “not a punitive thing,” but rather an “ongoing” rebalancing to meet global commitments.
“Like any alliance, it has to be good for everyone who’s involved, it has to be a clear understanding of what the expectations are,” Rubio said, noting there is room for NATO cooperation regarding the “defense industrial base.”
NATO Chief Mark Rutte said he welcomed Trump’s announcement but emphasized that the alliance’s long-term goal is toward a “stronger Europe and a stronger NATO” that is “less reliant on one ally only.”
Exactly where the 5,000 troops mentioned by Trump will be drawn from remains unclear. The Pentagon has referred all inquiries to the White House, which has not yet responded to requests for comment.
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