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President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is sending 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland — appearing to reverse a move announced last week to halt a U.S. Army brigade headed to the U.S. ally in Europe.
In a post on his social media platform on Thursday evening, Trump said the decision to send troops was, in part, because of the 2025 election of Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki.
“Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” Trump said in the post.
In Warsaw, Poland, on August 15, 2025, a U.S. Army M1 Abrams tank participates in a military parade along a highway for Polish Armed Forces Day. A military parade with the participation of the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, passes through the capital.
Nurphoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
It is not entirely clear which troops the president is referring to, and it appears to be an about-face from a move announced last week.
Last week, the Pentagon announced that a 4,200-man Army brigade headed to Poland would not be deploying after all, even though the unit’s equipment had already arrived and the unit underwent months of training for such a mission.
The move would effectively cut American combat power in Poland by nearly half.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance defended the Pentagon’s plans to halt the brigade, saying it was a “standard delay” rather than a “reduction.”
Later Tuesday, the Pentagon released a statement saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had spoken with the Prime Minister of Poland and assured him that the U.S. “retains a strong military presence in Poland.”
“Poland has shown both the ability and resolve to defend itself. Other NATO allies should follow suit,” the statement added.
A Polish official told ABC News that the Polish government credits a “diplomatic offensive” in Washington with helping to counter the planned troop cut.
But it is not clear from the Trump’s announcement which troops will be deployed to Poland and when they will be deployed, the official added.
It is also not clear whether the delayed brigade will deploy from Ft. Hood, Texas, as originally planned, the Polish official said, or whether the 5,000 troops Trump announced will come from Germany or elsewhere.
Alternatively, an American unit in Poland that is scheduled to rotate out of the country could simply be extended to keep U.S. troop levels at net-zero, the Polish official said.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Polish President Karol Nawrocki down the Colonnade to the Oval Office at the White House on September 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Nawrocki is visiting Washington to meet with President Trump for a bilateral meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The Polish official said Polish officials applied pressure to their American counterparts and it worked. Broader shifts in U.S. force posture in Europe are likely to be understood better when NATO hold its annual summit in Ankara, Turkey, in July, the official said.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly said he was considering reducing troops in NATO countries, specifically over their response with the Iran war, which he perceived as not favorable.
Late last month, the Pentagon said the U.S. would pull 5,000 troops out of Germany over the next six to 12 months following remarks made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about the U.S. war with Iran.
Earlier this week, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the top U.S. military commander in Europe and NATO commander, told reporters the 5,000 troop reduction would be “coming out of Europe,” but did not specify Germany.
