Military-political cooperation between the overseas and European continents has entered a period of unexpected and intense turns. On the night of May 22, US President Donald Trump posted an important statement on his official page on the "Truth Social" social network, which attracted the attention of the international community.
The White House leader writes in his post:
“Highly valuing the convincing election victory of current Polish President Karol Nawrocki, as well as the sincere and strong relationship formed with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States is deploying an additional 5,000 military personnel to Poland.”
However, Trump did not clarify in his statement whether these forces are considered a completely new military contingent or if they are being sent to replace the 4,000-strong 2nd Armored Brigade, which was canceled on May 13 of this year despite being previously planned for deployment to Poland.
The Pentagon's canceled plan and Warsaw's dissatisfaction
A few days ago, on May 13, the influential The Wall Street Journal and Defense News publications reported that the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) had suddenly stopped its plan to send a 4,000-strong troop contingent to Poland. According to journalists, this decision was made within the framework of a global strategy developed by the Donald Trump administration to gradually reduce the US military contingent in Europe.
Politico According to information provided by reliable sources close to the White House and the Pentagon to the
Politico
publication, this US decision caused sharp objections in local military circles. The issue is that the leadership of the Polish Armed Forces learned about the news that American soldiers would not arrive on their soil through the media, rather than through official channels, which contradicts alliance agreements.
Political coldness with Berlin and European anxiety
Notably, before this decision, Washington had announced the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from another major European country — Germany. This sharp move by the White House occurred after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed sharp criticism regarding the war and military actions being conducted against Iran by the US-Israel coalition.
As of May 17 of this year, the Polish government had begun preparing for a negative scenario following reports of a possible reduction in US troops. Sources around the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, Wiesław Kukuła, confirmed that Warsaw was fully aware of the emerging military situation and was taking measures to fill any potential void.
Nevertheless, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz issued a statement firmly emphasizing that the number of American military personnel in the country would not decrease; on the contrary, bilateral negotiations to further expand their ranks are consistently ongoing.
When numbers speak: US military power in Europe
According to data, as of mid-May of this year, approximately 7,400 American military personnel were stationed on Polish soil. In total, in recent years, official Washington has deployed about 100,000 troops across the European continent, with more than 65,000 serving on a permanent basis.
On May 19 of this year, the Pentagon announced that it would completely withdraw one of the four main combat brigades in the European region from the continent. This strategic step will bring the number of US military forces in the region down to the level of four years ago, i.e., 2021. However, according to the Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, US Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, the reduction of American soldiers will not have any negative impact on the alliance's long-term plans to strengthen European defense capabilities. The General stated that because European countries are increasing their national military potential and defense budgets, it is a natural process for US troops to be moved to other geopolitical and hot regions of the world in the future. Furthermore, at the beginning of 2026, the US Congress had approved strict restrictions prohibiting the reduction of the number of American military personnel in the European region to less than
76,000.
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