Just a few dozens elite troops and tools from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division have landed in southeastern Poland close to the border with Ukraine
RZESZOW-JASIONKA, Poland — Just a few dozen elite U.S troops and tools had been seen touchdown Sunday in southeastern Poland close to the border with Ukraine, following President Joe Biden’s orders to deploy 1,700 troopers there amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A whole lot extra infantry troops of the 82nd Airborne Division are nonetheless anticipated to reach on the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Poland’s border with Ukraine. A U.S. Military Boeing C-17 Globemaster aircraft introduced a number of dozen troops and automobiles.
Their commander is Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who on Aug. 30 was the final American soldier to go away Afghanistan.
“Our nationwide contribution right here in Poland reveals our solidarity with all of our allies right here in Europe and, clearly, throughout this era of uncertainty, we all know that we’re stronger collectively,” Donahue stated on the airport.
In Warsaw, Polish Protection Minister Mariusz Blaszczak hailed the deployment, saying that “deterrence and solidarity are one of the best response to Moscow’s aggressive coverage, to the aggressive try at reconstructing the Russian empire.”
Russia has amassed some 100,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, some for joint navy workouts in Belarus, however insists it has no intentions of invading Ukraine.
A collective response by NATO members is “one of the best response to a risk, the one technique of assuring safety to Poland and to different NATO international locations on the alliance’s japanese flank,” Blaszczak stated.
He pressured he has held plenty of talks on the topic with U.S. Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin.
Biden ordered extra U.S. troops deployed to Poland, Romania and Germany to display to each allies and foes America’s dedication to NATO’s japanese flank amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine. NATO’s japanese member Poland borders each Russia and Ukraine. Romania borders Ukraine.
The division can quickly deploy inside 18 hours and conduct parachute assaults to safe key aims. Based mostly in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the division’s historical past goes again to 1917.
Earlier within the week, U.S. planes introduced tools and logistics troops in preparation for the arrival of a part of the division to the airport.
Polish troopers have beforehand labored along with the U.S. division on missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and have skilled collectively, in accordance with Maj. Przemyslaw Lipczynski, a spokesman for the Polish Military’s 18th Mechanized Division.
Some 4,000 U.S. troops have been stationed in Poland since 2017 on a rotating foundation, as a safety increase within the face of Russia’s elevated navy exercise.
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This story has been corrected to say that a number of dozen troops, not lots of, have arrived to date Sunday.
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Observe all AP tales about tensions over Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
