US Vice President Vance: Deployment of Polish troops postponed, not cancelled

(Patria) - United States Vice President JD Vance stated that the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland has been postponed, not cancelled, but said that Europe must stand on its "own feet".

Last week, US officials said the troop deployment had been cancelled, the latest move by President Donald Trump's administration to reduce the number of troops stationed with European NATO allies, Reuters reported.

Vance, one of the loudest critics of Europe in the Trump administration and a strong skeptic of US aid to Ukraine, said Trump has been calling on European allies to take on more of the burden for their own defense since his first term.

"We need to have more sovereignty and more Europe standing on its own two feet. That will continue to be our policy in Europe," Vance said at a White House briefing.

When asked about the 4,000 troops and Poland, Vance replied: "That is a delay in troop rotation. Those troops could go somewhere else in Europe. We could decide to send them somewhere else. We haven't actually made a final decision on where those troops will ultimately go."

A senior US military officer told a congressional hearing last week that the head of US European Command "received instructions to reduce forces" in Poland, a key ally on NATO's eastern flank with Russia.

Trump appeared determined to punish allies who did not support the war in the Middle East or contribute to peacekeeping forces in the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway, which Iran had closed.

The Pentagon announced in early May that Washington would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany.