NATO Ramps Up Military Airlift to Poland’s Rzeszow Hub as Arms Supplies to Ukraine Intensify

NATO has begun a large-scale concentration of military transport aviation in the Polish city of Rzeszow, which serves as a key logistics center for supplying weapons and military equipment from alliance countries to Ukraine. According to available data, ten aircraft belonging to NATO member states landed there over the past three days alone.

Among the arrivals were two four-engine turboprop Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft operated by the Belgian Air Force, as well as another A400M belonging to the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. The air traffic also included two Canadian Lockheed CC-130J Hercules aircraft, a Polish-operated Gulfstream G550 long-range jet, a British Boeing C-17A Globemaster III, a French Dassault Falcon 900EX, and two NATO-operated Airbus A330-243 MRTT aerial refueling tankers used for strategic missions and long-distance flights.

Why NATO Air Activity Has Increased

Hero of Russia and aviation major general Sergey Lipovoy, speaking to NEWS.ru, linked the sharp rise in NATO aviation activity in Rzeszow to a severe shortage of resources facing Kyiv.

"All of this is now being delivered from various military bases across Europe, with some shipments arriving from overseas. This is explained by the catastrophic situation Kyiv is in, with shortages of both ammunition and military equipment, which the Russian army destroys daily,”

According to Lipovoy, a decision to deliver a large new batch of weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces was made last week, prompting intensified air transport operations by NATO.

State Duma deputy Andrey Kolesnik offered a different interpretation, suggesting that the buildup of military assets in Rzeszow aims to pressure Russia into negotiations on terms favorable to the West.

"I believe they are trying to intimidate us. At the same time, they want the European Union to appoint a negotiator to engage with Russia after recent developments. NATO countries want to push us toward negotiations, possibly on unfavorable terms, but that is fundamentally impossible,”

Kolesnik emphasized that Russian forces would ultimately destroy the Western weapons delivered to Kyiv, though such actions would come at the cost of human lives.

US Troops Previously Left the Rzeszow Hub

In 2025, the US Army Command in Europe and Africa announced the withdrawal of American troops from the Rzeszow military hub. The move was described as part of a broader strategy to optimize US military operations and improve efficiency while continuing to support allies.

The facility does not hold the status of a permanent Polish military base, yet it has been actively used by US, NATO, and partner forces for the past three years.

Polish President Andrzej Duda stated that the US troop redeployment had been coordinated at the NATO level and involved transferring responsibility for airport security in Rzeszow. He stressed that the move did not represent a withdrawal of US forces from Poland.

The Pentagon confirmed that the changes would not affect military assistance to Ukraine. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz echoed this assessment, emphasizing that NATO's mission remained unchanged.

Strategic Role of the Rzeszow Hub

Rzeszow currently hosts several US Patriot air defense systems and the British Sky Sabre surface-to-air missile system. The United Kingdom uses the hub as one of its primary routes for delivering military aid to Ukraine.

Previously, the airport handled around 100 civilian passenger flights per week. Today, it operates under constant use by military and cargo aircraft. Overall military aviation activity at the hub has increased by 167 percent, underscoring its growing strategic importance.