US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said US forces in Europe could be redeployed to Ukraine to "facilitate the evacuation" of citizens.
"Our forces are capable of a variety of missions and will be prepared for a range of different circumstances," Kirby said during the briefing.
He announced that almost 2,000 US troops were soon going to be deployed to Europe as reinforcements under Article 5 of NATO (a collective response in the event of an armed attack on one or more countries). The spokesman stressed that Russia continues to build up forces in the western part of the country and on the territory of Belarus, showing "no signs of interest or desire to reduce tensions."
US forces will head to Germany, Poland and Romania. According to Kirby, a decision on the transfer of an additional contingent may subsequently be made. The exact number is unknown, but we can talk about more than 8.5 thousand people.
“We intend to constantly monitor the situation in the region and consult with our allies and partners. If we consider that it is necessary to increase the readiness of additional forces, we will do it. If it seems necessary to us to send more forces to any of the countries on the eastern flank (NATO), we will also do this in full consultation with NATO and specific allies and partners, ”concluded the Pentagon spokesman.
Earlier, CNN reported that US President Joe Biden officially approved the deployment of additional US troops in Eastern Europe. According to the WSJ, the Pentagon has ordered several thousand more soldiers to be put on high alert, in addition to the 8,500 troops mentioned, who received similar orders last week.
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