US troops leave Ukraine support hub in Poland

U.S. troops stationed at the temporary base in Jasionka (Rzeszów), Poland, for the past three years are being relocated to permanent installations, while the Jasionka base will now be protected by Poland and NATO.

Photo: flickr.com by Pfc. Cameron Boyd is licensed under U.S. federal government

US troops

As part of efforts to optimize its military presence, the United States has decided to redeploy troops and equipment from the base in the village of Jasionka, representatives for the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command said. The base was used as part of the hub to transfer weapons to Ukraine.

“The important work of coordinating military aid to Ukraine through Jasionka will continue under the leadership of Poland and NATO, with a reduced U.S. military presence. Poland and its allies will maintain robust defensive infrastructure around this critical site,” the statement said.

U.S. forces had been stationed in Jasionka temporarily since 2022, and it was never designated a permanent base. US troops are now being transferred to permanent facilities in an effort to reduce costs, General Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa said.

Jasionka (home to Rzeszów Airport and the Polloghab base) lies about 50 km from the Ukrainian border (Volyn region) and roughly the same distance from the Belarusian border (Brest region).

In early March, President Donald Trump paused military aid to Ukraine amid a failed agreement over Ukrainian mineral resources and a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Intelligence-sharing was also suspended.

On March 12, both Ukrainian and Polish sources reported that supply deliveries through Jasionka had resumed after a brief pause of just over a week.

Zelensky acknowledged in February that without U.S. assistance, Ukraine’s chances of survival would be “very low.” In a revised version of the resource agreement, Washington now considers targeted aid as a loan to Ukraine.

Russia continues to condemn Western support for Kyiv. Following the second phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 18, the Kremlin stated that a key condition for preventing escalation and moving toward a diplomatic resolution of the conflict is the complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine. Trump has said that the presidents did not discuss military aid during the call.

Details

Rzeszów Ulma Airport (IATA: RZE, ICAO: EPRZ) is an international airport located in southeastern Poland, in Jasionka, a village ten kilometres (6.2 mi) from the center of the city of Rzeszów. Not to be confused with the much smaller Rzeszów (EPRJ) airport used by Rzeszów University of Technology and Rzeszów Aeroclub, it is the eighth-busiest airport in Poland.