An announcement from the U.S. side via the Ministry of Defense Wednesday stated the deployment will arrive in-country in November this year.

Tsahkna has been in New York this week attending high-level UN General Assembly meetings and told ERR of the planned deployment, which comes amid a broader U.S. review of its force posture in Europe.

"The United States has informed us that, as a result of its review of troop rotations, U.S. forces will remain in Estonia. In other words, a new rotation will arrive in the near future, and that is very positive news," Tsahkna said.

The announcement follows the withdrawal in early summer of the bulk of a U.S. unit previously stationed in Estonia. ERR reported in July the bulk of the contingent had left, while the defense minister at the time, Hanno Pevkur (Reform), repeatedly stated a new U.S. contingent would be arriving in the near future.

Tsahkna said Washington had told Estonia there was no cause for concern over the security of the region.

"We have presented a whole range of arguments as to why the continued presence of U.S. forces in the Baltic states and Poland is essential for ensuring stability and peace and providing deterrence," he said.

The U.S. is continuing its military presence in Estonia.

This is an strong signal of Allied unity and important element of deterrence and defence on NATO's eastern flank.

Estonia is doing its part, investing over 5% of GDP in defence this year and strengthening our national… pic.twitter.com/mFp6x5pM1k

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) September 22, 2026

"U.S. troops in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland guarantee our security and also send a very clear message to Russia that it should not entertain any thoughts of aggression," the foreign minister added.

Tsahkna said Estonia has pledged to cover the costs of retaining allied troops in Estonia where necessary, and pointed to Estonia's high defense spending levels.

"And in addition, we are a country which invests 5.4 percent [of GDP per year] into defense. So our relations with the United States have always been based on trust," he said.

As to when the new contingent might be arriving, Tsahkna reiterated it would happen "in the near future".

US says new unit will arrive in Estonia in November

The Estonian Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that U.S. representatives have informed Estonia that the rotational presence of American forces in Estonia will continue shortly, with a new unit arriving during November.

 "Estonia highly values the U.S. presence in Estonia and its contribution to ensuring security in the Baltic region. This is a cornerstone of NATO's deterrence and defense posture, confirming the allies' readiness and unity to defend alliance territory," said Defense Minister Martin Herem (Reform).

 Those U.S. representatives Estonia spoke to said the decision to deploy is separate from the ongoing US force posture review. The unit arriving in Estonia will be equivalent in size and capability to the unit that rotated out in the spring.

We welcome the continuation of the US rotational presence in Estonia, with a new US unit expected to arrive in November.

US representatives have confirmed that the incoming unit will be equivalent in size and capability to the unit that rotated out in spring.

According to US… pic.twitter.com/D6yqChESIj

— MoD Estonia (@MoD_Estonia) September 23, 2026

That unit, the 6th Squadron of the US 9th Cavalry Regiment (6-9 CAV) completed its rotation in Estonia in spring. A new U.S. unit had been due to rotate in at that point but this process was suspended, due to the ongoing review. At the same time, the U.S. presence at Camp Reedo in Võru was not scaled down to zero and a reduced contingent remained in place.

This week, Lithuania's leaders also announced a new U.S. military unit of around 1,000 troops would soon arrive in that country. The U.S. is currently conducting a review of its forces stationed in Europe, which could result in further changes to their presence. "This will be a real review, designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe taking primary responsibility for its conventional defense," U.S. Undersecretary for Defense Elbridge Colby  wrote on his social media account.

Editor's note: This piece was updated to include the U.S. announcement that its next full deployment would arrive in Estonia in November this year.

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