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US to deploy new troops in six locations in Poland to counter Russia threat

  • Poland has a border in the northeast with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, where Moscow has deployed nuclear-capable missiles
  • The deal signed in June will increase the number of non-permanent US troops in Poland by 1,000

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There are about 4,500 US troops in Poland. Photo: Reuters
Warsaw and Washington have agreed on six locations for new US troops to be stationed in Poland, the country’s Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Friday, a day after Donald Trump cancelled a trip to the eastern European nation.
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Trump called off his weekend trip due to a hurricane bearing down on Florida, with US Vice President Mike Pence to take his place at events in Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of World War Two.

“We have agreed on six locations, we talked about a seventh location,” Blaszczak said later at a joint news conference with US National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has come to Poland for the anniversary.

In June, Poland signed a deal to increase the American military presence on its soil to counter Russia’s growing assertiveness since its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Poland has a border in the northeast with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, where Moscow has deployed advanced nuclear-capable Iskander missiles.

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