Polish defense official says US has decided to establish a base in Poland

U.S. soldiers with the 37th Armored Regiment and a British Army soldier participate in a concealment and target acquisition exercise at the Bemowo Piskie Training Area in Poland on Aug. 20, 2026. U.S. Army Reserve / Staff Sgt. Emilie Lenglain

But the Pentagon declined to confirm a decision about Warsaw's longtime goal.

Security Cooperation

Poland will fulfill a longtime goal of hosting a permanent U.S. military base, a Polish defense leader said Friday, adding that the two countries are nearing an agreement to jointly develop weapons.

“We understand that decision has been made,” Paweł Ksawery Zalewski, secretary of state at Poland’s Ministry of National Defence, told an audience in Washington, D.C.

Asked for comment, a Pentagon spokesman said, “We have nothing to announce at this time.”

The Polish government first sought a U.S. military base within its borders in 2018, when it offered to name it after President Donald Trump. Trump, at the time, said that he was “looking at it.”

Since returning to office, Trump has moved to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Europe even as Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased missile and drone strikes against Ukraine and escalated a hybrid warfare campaign against NATO allies. Trump has also made overtures to the Russian leader, such as inviting Putin to attend an upcoming meeting of the G-20 in Miami, Florida.

Zalewski argued that, despite appearances, Trump remains committed to a stronger NATO under the NATO 3.0 concept , and said his discussions with U.S. military officials were as productive and meaningful as ever.

He couldn’t say how many U.S. troops would be stationed at the new base but acknowledged that the Trump administration has not yet fulfilled its May promise to put an additional 5,000 troops in his country.

“I'm always very hesitant to discuss the numbers, because it is not the numbers which matters, because, you know, what matters is capabilities, " he said.

Zalewski said the details of the basing agreement are still under discussion between Polish and U.S. military officials.“We are just talking how to execute it in the right way, because, you know, it's a very important decision in terms of logistic financing. You know we are offering financing of the whole infrastructure. We are contributing to financing [for the] stay of each American soldier on the level of $15,000 per year,” he said.

The two countries have also agreed on the outlines of an agreement to jointly produce new military capabilities by allowing more joint ventures between U.S. and Polish defense producers.

“We understand the decision on the American side has been made,” he said.

But the agreement must contend with U.S. laws and regulations regarding defense exports.

“What is needed to do is first to cut the red tape,” he said.

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2026年8月20日，美国陆军第37装甲团士兵和一名英国陆军士兵在波兰贝莫沃皮斯基训练区参加隐蔽和目标获取演习。美国陆军预备役/参谋军士埃米莉·朗格莱恩

但五角大楼拒绝证实有关华沙长期目标的决定。

安全合作

波兰国防领导人周五表示，波兰将实现长期以来拥有美国永久军事基地的目标，并补充说，两国即将达成联合研发武器的协议。

“我们了解到，这一决定已经做出，”波兰国防部国务秘书帕维尔·克萨韦里·扎列夫斯基在华盛顿特区对听众说。

当被问及此事时，五角大楼发言人表示：“目前我们无可奉告。”

波兰政府早在2018年就曾寻求在其境内建立美国军事基地，当时还提议以美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的名字命名该基地。特朗普当时表示，他“正在考虑此事”。

自重返白宫以来，特朗普着手削减驻欧美军人数，与此同时，俄罗斯总统普京却加大了对乌克兰的导弹和无人机袭击力度，并升级了针对北约盟国的混合战争。特朗普还向普京示好，例如邀请他出席即将在佛罗里达州迈阿密举行的二十国集团峰会。

扎列夫斯基认为，尽管表面上看起来并非如此，但特朗普仍然致力于在北约 3.0 概念下建立一个更强大的北约，并表示他与美国军方官员的讨论一如既往地富有成效和意义。

他无法说明新基地将驻扎多少美军，但他承认，特朗普政府尚未兑现其 5 月份向美国增派 5000 名士兵的承诺。

“我总是很犹豫要不要讨论数字，因为重要的不是数字，而是能力，”他说。

扎列夫斯基表示，波兰和美国军方官员仍在讨论基地协议的细节。“我们正在探讨如何正确执行这项协议，因为你知道，这在后勤融资方面是一个非常重要的决定。我们承诺为整个基础设施建设提供资金。我们还为每位美国士兵每年的驻扎费用提供1.5万美元的补贴。”他说道。

两国还就一项协议的框架达成一致，该协议将允许美波两国国防生产商之间成立更多合资企业，共同生产新的军事能力。

他说：“我们了解到美方已经做出了决定。”

但该协议必须符合美国有关国防出口的法律法规。

他说：“首先需要做的就是简化繁文缛节。”

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