The United States is preparing to deploy around 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe as Russia continues growing its military presence along the...
The United States is preparing to deploy around 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe as Russia continues growing its military presence along the border of Ukraine.
NBC News reported that in the coming days, roughly 1,000 American soldiers who are currently stationed in Germany will be repositioned to Romania to support American forces already in the country.
John Kirby, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said that the reinforcements are part of a Stryker infantry unit that is “designed to deploy in short order and move quickly.”
Kirby stated, “This force is designed to deter aggression and enhance our defense capabilities and frontline allied states, and we expect them, as I said, to move in coming days.”
He also said that the United States will be moving an additional force of about 2,000 troops from the United States to Europe “in the next few days.” Most of these troops will be stationed in Poland.
Kirby continued, “Collectively, this force is trained and equipped for a variety of missions — to deter aggression and to reassure and to defend our allies.”
It is believed that these troop movements are “not permanent” and that the United States will reassess the situation as it continues to evolve.
Last week, President Biden committed to stationing American troops in NATO countries, saying, “I’ll be moving troops to Eastern Europe in the NATO countries in the near term.”
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “We are ready, capable, and prepared to uphold our obligation under treaty to NATO. An attack against one NATO ally is an attack against all.”
Differentiating these reinforcements from the 8,500 troops placed on “heightened alert” for potential military conflict with Russia by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Kirby noted that these forces “are not going to fight in Ukraine. They are going to maintain robust defense of our NATO allies.”
A senior official within the Biden administration said, “At the president’s direction and following Secretary [Lloyd] Austin’s recommendation, the Department of Defense will reposition certain Europe-based units further east, forward deploy additional U.S.-based units to Europe, and maintain the heightened state of readiness of response forces to meet these commitments.”
The 8,500 troops placed on “heightened alert” have not yet been given deployment orders.
Two weeks ago, when this decision was announced, Kirby said, “I want to reinforce that as of now, the decision has been made to put these units on high alert and higher alert only.”
Currently, Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops along the borders of Ukraine, and its leadership believes that its Western adversaries are not taking its demands seriously. It appears that armed conflict may occur in the near future.
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