The US ambassador to Poland revealed on Thursday that there are 12,600 of America’s military personnel in the EU member state at the moment, the largest number in history. As NATO conducts massive exercises on Ukraine’s doorstep, Poland and the Baltic states have asked for even more troops, according to documents leaked to the press earlier.
“I am very grateful to Poland for hosting so many American troops on its territory. At the moment, 12,600 soldiers are on the territory of the Polish Republic. This is more than ever before in history,” Polish media quoted Ambassador Mark Brzezinski as saying on Thursday, during his visit to NATO’s Defender Europe 22 military exercises.
The Polish military described the exercise as “a test of rapid movement of troops and equipment” and said on Thursday that troops from NATO countries have already “practiced rail and road transport as well as forcing water obstacles.”
The US does not have a permanent military base in Poland, though Warsaw has long lobbied for one. In an effort to woo the previous US president, the Poles had even proposed to call it “Fort Trump.”