US to deploy armoured brigade in Poland in February

Carter said on Wednesday that the brigade would carry out exercises in Poland, then company-size units would be sent to Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic states.

The units will remain in the Baltic countries until multinational NATO battalions arrive there under a decision by NATO country leaders taken at a Warsaw summit in July.

Then, NATO states decided to deploy four rotating battalions of about 1,000 soldiers each to the alliance’s eastern flank amid fears of potential Russian aggression.

In addition, the United States announced that an armoured brigade, currently stationed in Colorado, would be sent to Central and Eastern Europe.

Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz said last month that the first NATO military units under US command would arrive in Poland in January.

The multinational battalion that will be stationed in Poland will be commanded by the US, while Britain and Romania will contribute troops to it, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

(pk)

Source: PAP