Poland formally requests permanent U.S. military base

Poland on Wednesday announced it had formally asked the United States to establish a permanent military base on its territory, seizing on President Donald Trump’s decision to send an additional 5,000 American troops to the country.

Warsaw's push to have U.S. troops permanently stationed within Poland's borders comes as Washington's military commitment to Europe wanes, and as the continent faces a greater threat from Russia.

“I have conveyed to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth an official proposal to establish a new, permanent U.S. military base in Poland,” Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X. “U.S. engagement in Poland's security is not diminishing — on the contrary, it may be even greater.”

Speaking later at a press conference, the defense minister said “final decisions have not been made yet, but we are on the right track.” Warsaw would “do everything we can” to expand the American military presence, he added, saying officials were now working through the details with their U.S. counterparts.

The proposal revives a long-standing Polish ambition.

During Trump's first term in 2018, Warsaw proposed the creation of a permanent U.S. base dubbed “Fort Trump,” offering up to $2 billion to help fund it. While that effort fizzled, the American military footprint in Poland has steadily grown. Around 10,000 U.S. troops are now stationed in the country, alongside a permanent U.S. Army garrison and a missile defense base.

Kosiniak-Kamysz's request comes amid political games around U.S. troop deployments in Europe. The Trump administration is shifting away from supporting Europe militarily, and seems willing to do so in a way that inflicts political damage on its political adversaries — while boosting ideological allies like right-wing Polish President Karol Nawrocki.

A reduction in U.S. troops in Germany was announced shortly after criticism from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Trump has repeatedly described Poland as a “model ally,” and has made threats against countries not deemed so.

Nawrocki, who is politically aligned with Trump, said he would personally lobby the U.S. president for more troops at the expense of Germany — an approach with which centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk disagreed.

Nonetheless, Washington's announcement that it would move more troops to Poland last May was cheered across Poland's political spectrum. Tusk hailed the decision, while Nawrocki thanked Trump for his “friendship toward Poland.”