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| US to speed up deployment of troops to Poland, Romania and the Baltic | US to speed up deployment of troops to Poland, Romania and the Baltic |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The United States has decided to accelerate the deployment of troops to Poland, the Baltic states and Romania as part of an effort to improve the security of the region, Polish and US defense officials said on Wednesday. | The United States has decided to accelerate the deployment of troops to Poland, the Baltic states and Romania as part of an effort to improve the security of the region, Polish and US defense officials said on Wednesday. |
| The Polish defense minister, Antoni Macierewicz, made the announcement following talks with the commander of US land troops in Europe, Lt Gen Ben Hodges, in Żagań, western Poland. An armored brigade combat team from Fort Carson, Colorado, will be deployed there early next month, while another US force, a battalion, will be deployed on 1 April to Orzysz, in the north-east. | |
| Hodges said the troops would arrive in the German port of Bremerhaven on 6 January and would be immediately deployed to Poland, the Baltic states and Romania. Their transfer would be timed and treated as a test of “how fast the force can move from port to field”, he said. | Hodges said the troops would arrive in the German port of Bremerhaven on 6 January and would be immediately deployed to Poland, the Baltic states and Romania. Their transfer would be timed and treated as a test of “how fast the force can move from port to field”, he said. |
| “I’m confident in the very powerful signal, the message it will send [that] the United States, along with the rest of Nato, is committed to deterrence,” Hodges said. | “I’m confident in the very powerful signal, the message it will send [that] the United States, along with the rest of Nato, is committed to deterrence,” Hodges said. |
| He said the armored brigade had already moved out of its Colorado base and was loading on ships. | He said the armored brigade had already moved out of its Colorado base and was loading on ships. |
| “I’m excited about what my country is doing and I’m excited about continuing to work with our ally, Poland,” Hodges said. | “I’m excited about what my country is doing and I’m excited about continuing to work with our ally, Poland,” Hodges said. |
| In a separate decision, the members of Nato at a July summit in Warsaw approved the deployment of four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states to deter Russia. Germany will lead a multinational battalion in Lithuania, with similar battalions to be led by the US in Poland, Britain in Estonia and Canada in Latvia. | In a separate decision, the members of Nato at a July summit in Warsaw approved the deployment of four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states to deter Russia. Germany will lead a multinational battalion in Lithuania, with similar battalions to be led by the US in Poland, Britain in Estonia and Canada in Latvia. |
| Poland and the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have been uneasy about increased Russian military operations in the region, especially after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and have requested US and Nato troops on their soil as a deterrent. The alliance and the US insist the troop presence is not aimed against anyone, but Russia has threatened measures in response. | Poland and the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have been uneasy about increased Russian military operations in the region, especially after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and have requested US and Nato troops on their soil as a deterrent. The alliance and the US insist the troop presence is not aimed against anyone, but Russia has threatened measures in response. |
| The US troops had previously been expected in mid- or late January. | The US troops had previously been expected in mid- or late January. |
| “I am very happy that a decision has been taken by the US side for an earlier deployment,” Macierewicz said. | “I am very happy that a decision has been taken by the US side for an earlier deployment,” Macierewicz said. |
| He did not say if the accelerated timetable was due to the 20 January inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. Trump has suggested he would like Europe to rely less on the US for its defense. | He did not say if the accelerated timetable was due to the 20 January inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. Trump has suggested he would like Europe to rely less on the US for its defense. |