Rzeszow-Jasionka, Poland: The last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in August is the commander of the US division deployed to Poland, to reassure the NATO ally amid Russia’s threats to neighbouring Ukraine.
Major General Christopher Donahue, who on August 30 appeared in a grainy night vision image from the tarmac on the ground in Kabul, has appeared in photos on Monday AEDT in Poland near the border with Ukraine, following Biden’s orders to deploy 1700 soldiers there amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Now you see him, now you see him again: US Major General Chris Donahue in Afghanistan in August and in Poland this week. Credit:The Age
Donahue was leading a few dozen US troops and equipment that landed at Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, 90 kilometres from Poland’s border with Ukraine. A US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster plane brought a few dozen troops and vehicles.
Hundreds more infantry troops of the 82nd Airborne Division are still expected to arrive.
“Our national contribution here in Poland shows our solidarity with all of our allies here in Europe and, obviously, during this period of uncertainty, we know that we are stronger together,” Donahue said at the airport.
In Warsaw, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak hailed the deployment, saying that “deterrence and solidarity are the best response to Moscow’s aggressive policy, to the aggressive attempt at reconstructing the Russian empire.”
A US Air Force transport plane landing at the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in southeastern Poland on Sunday bringing from Fort Bragg troops and equipment of the 82nd Airborne Division. Credit:AP
Russia has amassed some 100,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, some for joint military exercises in Belarus, but insists it has no intentions of invading Ukraine.
A collective response by NATO members is “the best response to a threat, the only method of assuring security to Poland and to other NATO countries on the alliance’s eastern flank,” Blaszczak said.
He stressed he has held a number of talks on the subject with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.
Biden ordered additional US troops deployed to Poland, Romania and Germany to demonstrate to both allies and foes America’s commitment to NATO’s eastern flank amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine. NATO’s eastern member Poland borders both Russia and Ukraine. Romania borders Ukraine.
US Army General Christopher Donahue, left, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, and Polish General Wojciech Marchwica speak to journalists after unloading vehicles from a transport plane arriving from Fort Bragg at the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in southeastern Poland. Credit:AP
The division can rapidly deploy within 18 hours and conduct parachute assaults to secure key objectives. Based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the division’s history goes back to 1917.
Earlier in the week, US planes brought equipment and logistics troops in preparation for the arrival of part of the division to the airport.
Polish soldiers have previously worked together with the US division on missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and have trained together, according to Major Przemyslaw Lipczynski, a spokesman for the Polish Army’s 18th Mechanised Division.
Some 4000 US troops have been stationed in Poland since 2017 on a rotating basis, as a security boost in the face of Russia’s increased military activity.
European officials fear that the continent’s energy supplies are vulnerable i n the case of hostilities over Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron again spoke with US President Joe Biden in a “coordination logic” ahead of his trip to Moscow on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), a French Presidency source said on Sunday.
The 40 minutes-long call allowed the two leaders to “share information about contacts made during the weekend” for good coordination ahead of the trip, the source said.
Macron is due on Monday to visit Russia, which has massed troops near Ukraine, stoking Western fears of an invasion. Moscow denies planning to invade Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz set off Sunday for Washington seeking to reassure Americans that his country stands alongside the United States and other NATO partners in opposing any Russian aggression against Ukraine.
AP, Reuters
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