[ad_1]
Thousands of U.S. troops were put on standby to deploy to eastern Europe as fears of a Russian ground invasion into neighboring Ukraine looms over the European continent.
President Joe Biden’s decision to alert the military units on Monday represents an abrupt change in approach to the crisis as tensions worsen along the Ukrainian border. For weeks, the Biden Administration has restrained from mobilizing military forces as it sought to resolve the situation with Moscow diplomatically. But the lack of progress—and continued build-up of Russian forces—has prompted Biden reevaluate the U.S. options, say administration officials.
Amid intelligence warnings that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be imminent, the president is now considering moving thousands of troops, naval ships and warplanes into the Baltic states and eastern Europe. In a separate announcement, NATO said Monday it was moving additional ships and fighter jets to eastern Europe to defend its eastern flank.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said up to 8,500 U.S. service members were put on heightened alert for deployment to bolster NATO allies’ eastern defenses should Russia invade. The forces would not be sent to Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, or take part in any combat roles, Kirby said, but rather serve as reinforcements in places like Poland or Romania to reassure U.S. allies and deter Russian aggression. If activated, the troops would be part of the NATO Response Force based in Eastern Europe, the rapid-reaction force that has air, naval and intelligence components in case of an emergency.
“No decisions to deploy have been made,” Kirby said. “I don’t think anybody wants to see another war on the European continent, and there’s no reason why that has to occur.”
Thus far, the Biden Administration has stopped short of threatening U.S. military action should Russian President Vladimir Putin push his forces into Ukraine, but promised sweeping economic sanctions…
[ad_2]
Source : time
