Biden To Announce Changes To U.S. Troop Presence In Eastern Europe

President Joe Biden is planning to announce an extension of some of the increased U.S. troop presence in Poland and unveil changes to U.S. deployments in the Baltic states that were authorised prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NBC reports citing multiple sources.

• "The changes to the U.S. troop footprint could affect countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. To the extent there could be new troops deploying to the region on a more permanent basis, officials said the number would be minimal, but several hundred could remain in Poland on a more permanent basis."
• The changes would be unveiled on the heels of the announcement of a fresh U.S. military support package for Ukraine, which includes advanced surface-to-air missile defence systems, and of a declaration from G7 nations to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes."
• Biden's announcement would also come amid an overhaul of NATO defence strategy unveiled by the alliance's Secretary General on Monday. NATO is looking to increase the size of its rapid reaction force to 300,000 troops from 40,000 and "drastically upgrade" its eastern defences.