President: About 10,000 US troops in Poland

Polish President Andrzej Duda has said that about 10,000 US troops are in the country.

He made the statement in an interview with the newspaper Le Figaro.

He added that Russia would defeat Ukraine if Western countries do not supply weapons to Kiev as soon as possible.

Earlier, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that the country would receive 500 charging modules for US-made HIMARS missile systems and bring their total number in the national army to 506.According to him, 468 modules will be mounted on Polish trucks. Blaszczak added that 20 HIMARS systems will enter the country this year under 2019 orders.

Bloomberg reported that the US plans to sell $10 billion worth of HIMARS systems and ammunition to Poland. The military support package will include a long-range ATACMS missile system and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles. Sources say Congress was notified of the proposed deal as part of a foreign military sales programme.