Poland is reviving the idea of creating a large military base called "Fort Trump" as European allies walk a diplomatic tightrope with the Trump administration as he pushes for Ukraine peace without their representation.
The country's President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday revealed that assurances have been communicated from the Trump White House over the future of America's troop presence in Poland. There are no plans for a US troop reduction along NATO's 'eastern flank' - he was told.
Trump and his top national security officials have been pushing hard for Europe to do more to bolster its own security, instead of relying on Washington dollars and deployments.
Duda addressed this in Tuesday comments as follows: "There are no concerns that the U.S. would reduce the level of its presence in our country, that the U.S. would in any way withdraw from its responsibility or co-responsibility for the security of this part of Europe."
"On the contrary, I hope that thanks to the efforts that President Trump is currently making, the war in Ukraine will end," he continued, immediately following a meeting in Warsaw with Gen. Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
"I will say that in my personal opinion, America has entered the game very strongly when it comes to ending the war in Ukraine. I know President Donald Trump, I know that he is an extremely decisive man and when he acts, he acts in a very determined and usually effective way," Duda said, praising the longtime friend of his. The two appeared to be close during Trump's first administration.
Washington initially deployed and bolstered Pentagon forces in Poland following Crimea being annexed by Russia in 2014, which was the result of a popular referendum among the population.
International reports commonly estimate there are some 10,000 American troops in Poland. The Associated Press quoted Duda as expressing hope for an increase in troops, especially if Poland follows through on the prior Fort Trump idea:
Duda said Hegseth told him “that we can rather expect a strengthening of the American presence here. We even talked about the fact that I hope that Fort Trump, which we talked about during the first term of President Donald Trump, will really be established.”
Duda had first spoken publicly on this when he visited the White House in 2018, though the military outpost was never established.
I love how the media has gone full "How dare the US and Russia talk to each other about Ukraine without inviting Kiev?"
— Rachel Blevins (@RachBlevins) February 18, 2025
...when 8 months ago, the West held a summit in Switzerland where they invited everyone EXCEPT RUSSIA, and acted like they were going to solve the Ukraine war
As for more of what Duda thinks of current direct US engagement with Russia, he also struck a cautious tone on this. "We have told both the Secretary of Defense and General Kellogg clearly and distinctly that it is obvious to us that this war cannot end in a victory for Russia," the Polish leader said.