President Joe Biden is sending thousands of U.S. troops out to Eastern Europe by the end of this week in response to Russia’s massive buildup of soldiers near the Ukraine border, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. and its NATO allies have accused Russia of plotting to invade Ukraine, something the Kremlin has repeatedly denied. But, on Wednesday, the Pentagon announced Biden's decision to deploy troops to Europe in a significant escalation of the military standoff.
In order “to be prepared for a range of contingencies,” troops will be heading to Poland, Romania, and Germany, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said at a press conference about the deployment on Wednesday.
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“I want to be very clear about something: these are not permanent moves...Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine. They are going to ensure the robust defense of our NATO allies,” Kirby said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 3,000 troops would be sent, with roughly 2,000 of them to be sent from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to Poland and Germany, and an additional 1,000 troops to be moved from Germany to Romania. Some 5,000 more are expected to be placed on standby to deploy.
Citing an unnamed U.S. official, CNN reported the deployment of the initial 3,000 troops to their new eastern bases will take place “in the coming days.” Biden is said to have given the go-ahead to the proposals after a Tuesday meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley.
“They are trained and equipped for a variety of missions during this period of elevated risk,” a senior defense official told the Journal. The official explained that the deployments are intended to “deter the threat against the alliance. We are literally willing to put skin in the game.”
Russia has moved about 100,000 heavily armed troops to Ukraine’s border, raising fears of an invasion among NATO allies. In some rare public comments on the crisis Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of trying to draw Russia into a war by ignoring his demands against the eastward expansion of NATO.
A leaked letter published Wednesday by the Spanish newspaper El Pais appeared to show that Western officials had once again refused Putin’s demands to guarantee that Ukraine will never be admitted to NATO, and it called on Russia to “immediately de-escalate the situation” on the Ukrainian border “in a verifiable, timely, and lasting manner.”
Biden confirmed last Friday that he planned to move U.S. troops to Eastern Europe and NATO countries “in the near term.”
