American soldiers sent to Poland amid fears of potential Russian aggression were on Thursday welcomed by Polish officers as they crossed the border with Germany.

Soldiers from the US Armored Brigade Combat Team crossed the border near Olszyna, south-western Poland, and were later to travel to a base in the western town of Żagań, where many of the American troops will be stationed.

The convoy comprised several dozen trucks and Humvee vehicles.

The main welcome ceremonies in Żagań are scheduled for Saturday. The US troops will be welcomed by Prime Minister Beata Szydło and Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz.

The US brigade will be stationed in Poland and other countries in the region on a rotating basis part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

The brigade arriving in Poland comprises some 3,500 soldiers and over 1,000 vehicles including Abrams tanks, Bradley military vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers.

Amid fears of Russian aggression following Moscow's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014, NATO decided at a Warsaw summit last July to deploy four rotating multinational battalions of some 1,000 soldiers each to the military alliance’s eastern flank.

In addition, the United States announced that an armoured brigade would be deployed to the region.

Soldiers from the 3rd armoured brigade stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado, on Friday started to unload heavy equipment sent by sea from the US to the German port of Bremerhaven. From there, convoys headed for Poland.

(pk)

Source: IAR