Poland's MoD comments on withdrawal of US troops from strategic airport
Photo: Minister of Defense of Poland, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (Getty Images)
US military personnel are indeed leaving the strategic Yasionka airport in Poland. However, this is merely a relocation, not the withdrawal of US troops from the country, states Poland's Minister of Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, according to RMF24.
On Tuesday, April 8, Kosiniak-Kamysz assured that US troops will not be withdrawn from Poland. However, the previously planned relocation of units continues.
According to him, US military personnel will leave the airport near Rzeszów, and responsibility for the mission at Yasionka will be taken over by other allies.
"US troops remain in Poland. According to the decision made at the NATO summit in Washington, the nature of the mission at Yasionka is changing. Tasks previously performed by US troops are now being taken over by other allies. US troops remain in Poland, but in different locations," said the Minister of Defense.
He added that the mission at Yasionka now primarily involves Norwegian, German, British, and Polish troops, as well as other allies.
"NATO, within the framework of the NSATU mission, takes responsibility for the operation of Yasionka, as we informed in July 2024," Kosiniak-Kamysz added.
Withdrawal of troops from Yasionka
It was announced today that the United States is withdrawing its troops and equipment from the Polish Yasionka airport, which has served as the main logistical hub for military aid to Ukraine since 2022. This was reported by the US European and African Command.
At the same time, it was stated that the work of providing military aid to Ukraine through Yasionka will continue under the leadership of Poland and NATO, with the support of an optimized US military presence.
Logistics hub in Poland
The Polish border town of Rzeszów and the Yasionka airport nearby have become a logistics center and the main hub for supplying weapons since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since its establishment, 5,000 shipments of aid to Ukraine have been carried out from 45 countries. The facility is under military protection.
At the end of December 2024, the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces reported that NASAMS air defense systems and F-35 fighter jets had been deployed in Rzeszów to protect the logistics hub for aid to Ukraine.
