The U.S. will redeploy military personnel and equipment away from a key transit hub for Ukrainian aid in southeastern Poland to other parts of the country, the Polish defense minister has confirmed.
The words of Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz could quell fears that the U.S. was intending to pull the troops operating at the Jasionka base out of the country.
Jasionka, near the Polish city of Rzeszów and close to the Ukrainian border, has become a vital logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine, so any withdrawal of American personnel could amplify anxiety over a possible weakening of U.S. support for Kyiv.
“American troops are not withdrawing from Poland; the previously planned relocation of sub-units is taking place,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told the Polish Press Agency (PAP), adding that German and Norwegian troops will assume responsibility for the base’s operations.
In an announcement on Monday, the U.S. said that the decision, taken in coordination with Warsaw and NATO, formed part of a “broader strategy to optimize U.S. military operations, improving the level of support to Allies and partners while also enhancing efficiencies.”
The Polish Defense Ministry said that one of the elements of the agreements at the NATO summit in Washington “is the ongoing rotation of American troops to other locations in Poland.”
From January, the logistics hub has been secured by Norwegian NASAMS air-defense systems and German Patriot batteries,” a Defense Ministry statement read.
