WARSAW: A plane carrying US troops landed in Poland, a Reuters witness said, as Washington reinforces its NATO allies in Eastern Europe amid a Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s border.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania, as Washington moves to reassure jittery NATO allies.
The Pentagon said that around 1,700 service members, mainly from the 82nd Airborne Division, would deploy from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland.
The arrival of the C17 aircraft followed a plane carrying the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, US Army Major General Christopher Donahue, which landed on Saturday at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, and a few planes with US military equipment and an “advance group”.
It was not immediately clear how many troops arrived, but a C17 aircraft is “designed to airdrop 102 paratroopers and their equipment”, according to the US Air Force website.
Poland received an offer from Germany to purchase some of its Patriot air defense systems. As an alternative, Berlin might deport them to Ukraine, following the advice of the former Law and Justice (PiS) government.
The German Patriots were moved to Poland as planned, but that plan was thwarted, and they have since returned to Germany.
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