Permanent bases in the Baltic States against the Russian invasion

In order to deter Putin from invading NATO states, it is necessary to establish a permanent presence of US troops in Poland, Romania and the Baltic States," said PAP the highest-ranking Republican on the House of Representatives' Armed Forces commission Mike Rogers. The Pentagon is considering such a move.

"The deterrence of Russia from invading our NATO allies must include the permanent presence of troops in Poland, Romania and the Baltic States. Putin must know that his re-invasion into Ukraine only hardened NATO's firmness and strength," said PAP Rogers, Alabama congressman. As he added, he raised the subject in talks with the Pentagon and will continue to lobby for such a solution.

Among the ideas of the congressman is the change of temporarily sent troops to Poland, Romania and other countries to permanent presence. He also pointed out that in the past Poland offered to bear some of the costs of building a permanent base in its territory.

The question of permanent bases on the east NATO's flank was one of the subjects of a meeting of the Armed Forces Committee on Tuesday attended by Deputy Defense Undersecretary for the Strategy Mary Karlin. As asked by Rogers, a Pentagon representative admitted that in the face of the new Russian aggression of the situation it is necessary to review the deployment of US troops worldwide.

In the autumn of last year, the ministry completed an analysis of the deployment of US troops worldwide, the so-called Global Posture Review, which did not foresee significant changes in Europe.

"This requires another detailed look at us, which is necessary to deter Russia and to be absolutely, 150 percent sure that NATO is safe," said Karlin. "So we look at what kind of force presence – whether rotational or permanent – is needed in the current safety environment, both in the short term and in the long term," she added.

When asked by PAP about when a decision could be expected in this case, the Pentagon spokesman refused to give details.

President Joe Biden also referred to the case in ambiguous terms on Wednesday. When asked on the way to the Marine One helicopter about the permanent presence of US soldiers on the eastern flank, the president replied that this was a NATO decision. Most of the US forces present in Poland, including 4.7 thousand recently sent, however, is based on a bilateral agreement rather than an alliance.

Written by Oskar Górzyński/PAP