U.S. shifts military closer to Russian border amid growing tensions

In September 2024, the United States began relocating tanks from a base in Germany to one in Poland so they could be closer to Russia as part of a larger strategic goal to beef up the country's rapid deployment capability and security on NATO's eastern border.

Polish news outlet Radio ZET published an image of a convoy of U.S. combat vehicles making its way from a military base in Germany to warehouses in Podwidz and reported that the transfer of vehicles was set to continue throughout September 2024. 

The U.S. Army was transferring tanks and other vehicles from its military base in Mannheim to Podwiz, where there is a NATO-funded Army Prepositioned Stocks storage facility adjacent to an airport in the area that can be used for rapid deployments by air.  

The NATO-funded storage facility will eventually host 87 tanks as well as over 150 infantry fighting vehicles and 18 self-propelled howitzers according to Newsweek, which reported 14 M1 Abrams tanks were transferred to the site in June. 

An M88 armored recovery vehicle was also moved to the storage facility in Podwiz in June. Retired U.S. Army Colonel Ray Wojcik told Newsweek the site would eventually be equipped to handle the deployment of a full armored brigade.

Known as the Brigade Combat Team, this type of formation is the “U.S. Army’s basic deployable all arms maneuver formation” according to Kyiv Post, and it comes with its own “dedicated combat support, combat service support, and organic artillery units.”

Newsweek noted the formation being gathered in Podwiz could be deployed within a few days—rather than the month it would take for such a force to arrive by ship—and adding the forward deployment would send a strong message to Moscow. 

"This is significant regarding our effort to work with allies to 'steel' NATO's Eastern Front, It's a great example of burden sharing or deterrence and defense cooperation," Colonel Wojcik, now a senior fellow at The Center for European Policy Analysis, explained.

"Since 2014, we've made an effort to show the flag on the eastern front, but with limited capabilities. Today, more is happening, but much more must be done in terms of USA and NATO forward defense." Wojcik added.

In July, NATO restated its goal to strengthen the defensive alliance’s eastern flank, which it reported on its website is an “important component of NATO’s deterrence and defense posture,” but the move is likely meant to send a signal to Russia. 

“NATO has increased its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance as a direct result of Russia’s behavior, which reflects a pattern of aggressive actions against its neighbors and the wider transatlantic community,” the alliance noted.

"Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area,” the NATO article on its increased presence on the defensive alliance’s eastern border continued. 

The transfer of vehicles to Podwiz came just one month after construction was finished on a new base for 1,000 U.S. troops in Świętoszów, Poland, a compound that the Kyiv Post reported will also serve as a training base for allied troops.

The new base in Świętoszów will host rotations of combat-ready forces according to Kyiv, meaning that if enemy forces need to be engaged, the soldiers at this base will more than likely be deployed into battle by the United States.  

“The base will also be used to quickly collect and receive supplies, [and] configure combat equipment before moving to a tactical assembly area,” said Polish Brigadier General and the Director of NATO’s Investment Department Dariusz Mendrala. 

Newsweek reported at the time that the transfer of U.S. Army vehicles to Podwiz came “amid heightened tensions with Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.'' Relations between Washington and Moscow have remained rocky since. 

The storage facility in Podwiz is roughly 500 miles (310km) from the frontlines in Ukraine and 100 miles (62 km) from NATO’s borders with Russia in Estonia and Finland. 

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