American soldiers rolled into Poland on Thursday Jan 12,2017, fulfilling a dream some Poles have had since the fall of communism in 1989 to have US troops on their soil as a deterrent against Russia
US Army soldiers are welcomed in an official military ceremony in Zagan, Poland, on Thursday Jan 12,2017
US and other Western nations have carried out exercises on NATO's eastern flank in past years, but the new deployment — which includes some 3,500 US troops — marks the first-ever continuous deployment to the region by a NATO ally
It is part of a larger commitment by President Barack Obama to protect a region that grew deeply nervous when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then began backing separatist rebels in Ukraine's east.
Some people waved and held up American flags as US troops in tanks and other vehicles crossed into southwestern Poland from Germany and headed toward the town of Zagan, where they will be based.
Poland's prime minister and defense minister will welcome them in an official ceremony Saturday Jan 14,2017
'This is the fulfillment of a dream,' said Michal Baranowski, director of the German Marshall Fund think tank in Warsaw.
US Army vehicles are seen above as they cross the Polish border in Olszyna, Poland from Germany
US Army soldiers are welcomed in an official military ceremony in Zagan, Poland, on Thursday Jan 12,2017
US and other Western nations have carried out exercises on NATO's eastern flank in past years, but the new deployment — which includes some 3,500 US troops — marks the first-ever continuous deployment to the region by a NATO ally
It is part of a larger commitment by President Barack Obama to protect a region that grew deeply nervous when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then began backing separatist rebels in Ukraine's east.
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