Donald Trump Teases Deploying More US Troops to Russia’s Doorstep

President Donald Trump teased the possibility of sending more U.S. troops to Poland, which borders Russia’s Kaliningrad region, during a meeting with the NATO member’s President Karol Nawrocki at the White House on Wednesday.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense and the Polish Ministry of Defense via email for comment.

Why It Matters

Poland has long been one of the United States’ strongest allies, and has also helped the bordering nation of Ukraine by providing weapons and humanitarian aid during Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Poland borders multiple Ukrainian regions that have experienced repeated Russian missile and drone attacks over the past three-and-a-half years. Other NATO allies have previously mobilized air policing and intercepts in response to major Russian aerial campaigns.

Overnight, Poland readied fighter jets and placed ground-based air defenses and radar systems on maximum readiness after Russia launched long-range strikes on facilities in Ukraine. The Operational Command of the Armed Forces released a statement on Wednesday morning, describing the deployment as preventive and focused on protecting Polish airspace and citizens.

What To Know

Trump’s comment came as he was asked by a reporter whether the U.S. would withdraw troops from Poland.

“Yeah, I think so. Do you know something I don’t?” the president asked. “Yeah, we’re very happy. If anything we’ll put more there if they want. But they’ve long wanted to have a larger presence….They’ll be staying in Poland. We’re very much aligned with Poland.”

“American soldiers have become part of our society,” Nawrocki said. “There are almost 10,000 of them. This is a signal to the Russian Federation.”

Jeffrey Fischer, a former U.S. Air Force colonel and onetime defense official at the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo, told Newsweek on Wednesday that he views the presidents’ remarks as “political posturing,” adding that the Powdiz rotation has been in existence since 2018.

That rotation refers to the ongoing deployment of U.S. military forces, including primarily Army and Air Force units, to Powidz, Poland, for rotational operations as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve and other bilateral training exercises. has been going on since around 2018.

“It’s a regular rotation, but most Americans don’t know the V Corps HQ is in Poland and a full heavy brigade in Powdiz,” Fischer said from Poland, where he was attending a military conference. “And, possibly Chinook helicopters coming to be here.”

“They are National Guard rotations and live in tents. The base slowly grows, and eventually there is a plan to get them out of tents,” he said.

Ron Farkas, founder and president of PLUS Ops (Poland-U.S. Operations), told Newsweek that he’d be inclined to take the remarks at the White House as a sign of strength between the U.S. and Poland.

“Poland absorbs a significant percentage of the cost for bedding down U.S. forces in Poland,” Farkas said. “Perhaps more so than traditional Western Europe nations (United Kingdom, Italy, Germany).

“Living in Poland as an American, it is often hard to interpret U.S. policy towards Ukraine and Russia.”

What People Are Saying

Marek Magierowski, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center and former Polish ambassador to the U.S., on X: “A quite unambiguous declaration @POTUS, though of course it’s still just a declaration.”

What Happens Next

It remains unclear whether the U.S. will, in fact, deploy more troops overseas to Poland or elsewhere.

Updated 9/3/25, 2:41 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.