Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and U.S. officials attended a ceremony Tuesday to strengthen the U.S. military presence in NATO-member Poland in the context of the war in neighboring Ukraine, the AP reported.

More than 10,000 American soldiers are stationed in the country of the former communist bloc. They were part of the Regional Support Group in Poland, which has now been upgraded to form the first permanent US military garrison on NATO’s eastern flank, a decision announced by President Joe Biden at last year’s 30-nation NATO summit.

The garrison is based in the Kosciuszko camp.

The United States already has five garrisons in Germany, one in Belgium and one in Italy.

“We really appreciate the fact that American troops are constantly in our country,” Blaszczak said. “It is very important that the Western world stays together.”

“This is good news for the security of Poland and NATO’s eastern flank,” Blaszczak added at the ceremony in Poznan, western Poland.

He said that Poland’s cooperation with the United States is “exemplary” and is aimed at achieving operational interoperability between the armed forces of the two countries.

A part of the American troops controls the military support provided to Ukraine by foreign countries.

Several thousand US troops have been stationed in Poland and other countries, including Romania, on NATO’s eastern flank for years as a deterrent, but their numbers and role have grown significantly as Russia’s war against Ukraine enters its second year. .