British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the comments “insulting and appalling,” saying they caused deep hurt to the families of soldiers who were killed or wounded. The UK’s Prince Harry, who served in Afghanistan, also urged respect for British troops, noting that 457 UK service members lost their lives in the conflict. Veterans and officials from other European countries echoed the criticism. Denmark, which suffered the highest per-capita casualty rate among allied forces, lost 44 soldiers during the war. In Poland, former GROM commander General Roman Polko said the remarks ignored Poland’s support for the United States after the September 11 attacks. Polish President Karol Nawrocki defended the record of Polish troops, while the U.S. ambassador in Warsaw sought to contain the fallout. Trump later praised British soldiers but stopped short of issuing an apology. By the end of 2014, nearly 3,500 NATO troops had been killed in Afghanistan, approximately 1,000 of them from non-U.S. forces.