Russia Warns Against Additional US Troops Near Borders

Russia has warned that deploying additional US troops near its borders would be unacceptable, after Washington pledged to send more soldiers to Poland. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing on Thursday that reducing the number of US personnel stationed in Europe would be a “rational, justified, and long-overdue” step toward stabilizing what she described as an “imbalanced” security situation created by NATO policies. Deploying more US troops in the region, on the other hand, would place them within striking distance, Zakharova added. She said the move would only increase tensions in Europe and compel Russia to respond with “military-technical measures.” Zakharova accused NATO of pushing the continent toward a “suicidal” conflict. Around 10,000 American service members are currently stationed in Poland, most of them on a rotational basis, while around 80,000 are deployed across Europe. Poland shares a border with Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, an exclave on the Baltic Sea. Last week, US President Donald Trump unveiled plans to send 5,000 additional troops to Poland, one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. The announcement came after the Pentagon said it would delay the rotation of 4,000 troops, which Vice President J.D. Vance later downplayed as a “standard delay.” Trump has frequently accused NATO members of failing to spend enough on defense and recently announced the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany amid a dispute with Berlin over the war with Iran. President Vladimir Putin has said Russia has no intention of attacking NATO members unless it is attacked first. Russian officials have accused the West of “reckless militarization” and cited NATO’s eastward expansion as one of the causes of the Ukraine conflict. On Thursday, Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, said NATO is “de facto preparing for a large-scale military conflict in the east.”