The Pentagon said on Thursday that President Joe Biden is ordering 2,000 US troops into Poland and Germany and transferring 1,000 more from Germany to Romania, demonstrating America’s commitment to the eastern side of NATO among both allies and enemies. do, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
Russia retaliated with sharp objection, calling the deployment baseless and “disastrous”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a new telephone exchange with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But readouts from both governments showed no progress, with Putin saying the West was giving no ground to Russia’s security concerns and Johnson expressing deep concern about Russia’s “hostile activity” on the Ukrainian border, with Putin saying Mentioned the creation of 100,000 soldiers.
The Biden administration is aiming to demonstrate US resolve without undermining efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Biden has not specifically sent military reinforcements to the three Baltic countries on the eastern side of NATO – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – which are former Soviet Union states.
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No US forces are being sent to Ukraine, and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that the administration has stopped calling the Russian offensive “imminent”, because that word implies that Washington knows Putin. has decided to attack. Officials say Putin’s intentions are unclear.
However, the increase in the level of US troops in Eastern Europe is precisely what Putin has said he finds intolerable, as well as the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO. The US already has several thousand troops in Poland, and Romania is hosting a NATO missile defense system that Russia considers a threat. The US presence in the region has grown since 2014 when Russia launched its first invasion of Ukraine.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the intention to deploy US forces soon is to temporarily strengthen US and allied defensive positions.
“These are not permanent steps,” he stressed, adding that it is intended to reassure allies. Kirby said that despite the US insistence that Russia has continued its construction in the last 24 hours.
In Moscow, a senior official said US movements would further complicate the crisis.
In remarks carried by the Interfax news agency, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said “unfounded disastrous steps will only fuel military tensions and narrow the field for political decisions.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba once again downplayed fears of a Russian attack, but said Ukraine would “necessarily react” if Russia took steps that could signal an imminent invasion.
Of the 2,000 US troops deployed from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, about 1,700 are members of the 82nd Airborne Division Infantry Brigade, which will be heading to Poland. Another 300 are with the 18th Airborne Corps and will go to Germany in what the Pentagon calls “Joint Task Force-capable Headquarters.” Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszak wrote on Twitter that the deployment to his country is “a strong gesture of solidarity in response to the situation in Ukraine.”
The 1,000 American soldiers visiting Romania are members of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based in Vilseck, Germany. They will add to the nearly 900 already in Romania, Kirby said.
In a separate written statement, the Pentagon said the cavalry deployment is intended to “deter aggression and enhance our defensive capabilities in border Allied states.”
“It is important that we send a strong signal to Mr. Putin and the world to the US commitment to NATO,” Kirby said.
He said France had decided that it would also send military reinforcements to Romania under NATO command, and added that several other European NATO countries were considering adding forces to the eastern side of NATO. Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron touched down on Wednesday night via a phone call.
NATO has been increasing its defenses against allies in Eastern Europe since late last year. For example, Denmark said it is sending a warship and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania, and Spain is sending four fighter jets to Bulgaria and three to the Black Sea to join NATO naval forces. The Netherlands plans to send two F-35 fighters to Bulgaria in April and is keeping one ship and land-based units on standby for NATO’s response force.
Biden has said he will not keep US troops in Ukraine to fight any Russian incursions, although the United States continues to supply weapons to Ukraine and is seeking to reassure allies in Eastern Europe that Washington will continue to do so. shall fulfill its treaty obligation to protect them in the event. They are attacked.
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