Polish Radio
April 22, 2022

NATO allies in talks to send more troops to eastern flank: Polish official

A senior Polish national security official said on Friday that the NATO alliance was discussing ways to boost troop numbers on its eastern edge amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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“Talks are under way to expand the NATO battalion groups stationed in Poland and the Baltic states…into brigades,” he said.

“So that means more troops,” he added.

“Besides more soldiers would be on standby for deployment to the eastern flank,” Soloch also said.

He revealed that Polish President Andrzej Duda was pushing for NATO troops based in countries bordering the war zone to be “combat-ready.”

Soloch, who is Duda’s national security advisor, said he hoped “the US will establish a permanent and bigger presence in the region, especially in Poland.”

He described Poland as “a natural hub for the American forces in Europe amid the confrontation with Russia.”

At the beginning of February, the United States had around 4,500 troops on rotation in Poland, its fourth-largest deployment in Europe….

Under a bilateral 2020 agreement, Poland had committed to building an infrastructure for housing up to 20,000 American soldiers, according to officials.

In mid-February…the United States sent an additional 4,700 troops from its 82nd Airborne Division to southeastern Poland, in anticipation of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and an influx of war refugees.