SWIDWIN (Poland) (AFP) - The first American troops arrived in Poland on Wednesday, after Washington said it was sending a force of 600 there and to the Baltic states amid rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine.
Some 130 soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade -- nicknamed "Sky Soldiers" -- touched down early afternoon in Swidwin, in the northwest of the country, and were welcomed by Poland's defence minister.
"Every day we work on the defence of our country but in a world that is changing, and that is full of threats, we need strong and steadfast allies such as the United States and NATO," Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said under a cloudy sky.
The troops, who are usually based in Vicenza, Italy, arrived at the base on two Hercules transport planes.
A further 450 US troops will be deployed in the next few days in the ex-Soviet Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, following Washington's announcement Tuesday that it would increase its presence in the region to reassure its NATO "allies and partners".
"Poland has been there for the United States," US ambassador to Poland Stephen Mull said at the ceremony in accented Polish.
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