Poland Seeks Answers from US on Canceled Troop Rotation

WARSAW — Two senior Polish defense ministry officials are on their way to Washington to get more information on why the U.S. suddenly canceled the deployment of 4,000 soldiers on a planned rotation to the country.

Paweł Zalewski and Cezary Tomczyk — both deputy defense ministers — will try to get details on what Zalewski called "the incident."

"No one in Poland knew that the rotation of the American brigade would be suspended," Zalewski told TOK FM radio on Monday morning.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth blindsided Warsaw by halting the long-planned deployment of soldiers with the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez said the move was "not an unexpected, last-minute decision.”

There are about 10,000 U.S. troops in Poland, most regularly rotating through the country for stints of several months; Warsaw sees them as key to its ability to deter Russia. Hegseth's decision was criticized in Washington by lawmakers from both parties and left Poland confused.

The U.S. earlier said it would pull 5,000 troops out of Germany after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the conduct of U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, but Poland has not condemned the war and is the highest defense spender in NATO as a percentage of GDP.

“You have the most loyal ally. It is worth remembering that, because America will not find a better ally anywhere,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday during a ceremony announcing the opening of a Polish repair center for U.S.-made M1 Abrams tanks.

Tusk called the U.S. troop decision "logistical in nature" and said it would not directly affect Poland's security or deterrence capabilities.

Poland's surprise was also underlined Monday by Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who said: "At no point have we been informed that the presence of U.S. armed forces in Poland would be reduced."

“I understand that the reorganization process is under way, but it cannot come at the expense of such a staunch ally as Poland,” Kosiniak-Kamysz added. “We are a proven and reliable ally, which is why we expect partnership, friendship and a good exchange of information.”

Kosiniak-Kamysz and Poland's top military commander, Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, are due to meet this week with Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe.

Poland is a close political and military ally of the U.S., and is one of Europe's largest buyers of American weapons for its fast-growing armed forces.

Kosiniak-Kamysz underlined that Trump had earlier pledged that the U.S. would not pull any forces from Poland, saying Poland would "not lose out."

Tusk's government and MAGA-aligned President Karol Nawrocki are normally deeply divided but both sides scrambled to insist that Washington has allies in Poland.

“It is not Poland’s role to review new strategies or a different type of diplomacy, but it is our role to remind you: you have friends here, only friends, on the Vistula," Tusk said.

Nawrocki’s foreign policy aide Marcin Przydacz told a press briefing in Rome: "The government can certainly count on the president’s support, because this is a priority issue — a matter of Poland’s security."

But Przydacz did indicate that recent comments from Tusk in an interview with the Financial Times, where the Polish leader mused whether the U.S. was "loyal" to Europe's defense, may not have been helpful.

“We urge the government above all to rein in this anti-American narrative, because it does not help matters, it does not help the security of the Polish state and it is simply irresponsible,” he said.

“No one should be tempted to put Poland’s security at risk for some short-term political interest,” Tusk said in response.