WASHINGTON (Transatlantic Today) – The US is sending approximately 3,000 troops to Europe to assist protect European allies amid a dispute over Putin’s military buildup near Ukraine’s borders, according to the Biden administration.
According to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, about 1,000 US soldiers in Germany will be moved to Romania in the days ahead to reinforce an equal number of American personnel already stationed there. He claimed the extra soldiers are members of a Stryker infantry unit that is built to deploy in a short period of time and move swiftly.
The United States is also sending a supplementary force of approximately 2,000 troops to Europe in the coming days, according to Kirby, with the majority of them heading to Poland. The 82nd Airborne Division is moving personnel to Germany, and the 18th Airborne Corps is building a joint task force capable headquarters there. Both are based in North Carolina’s Fort Bragg.
The deployments are distinct from the 8,500 troops that Austin put on heightened notice last month to help NATO allies defend themselves, according to Kirby.
The deployment of extra troops was initially reported by CNN.
“A bad idea.” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called it a “mistake.” On Wednesday, Hawley wrote to Blinken, claiming that Ukraine’s potential participation in NATO would harm US interests and divert focus away from China.
In answer, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Hawley was digesting Russian false propaganda and simply repeating Russian talking points, which she said wasn’t aligned with long-held bipartisan American principles, which is to take a stand for the sovereignty of nations like Ukraine, but others, their right to pick their own coalitions, and also to stand against any nation’s attempts or efforts to invade and take territorial authority.
Psaki also stated that new intelligence did not change the decision to deploy soldiers.
The declaration on troops comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the US and its allies had ignored Russia’s fundamental security needs, his first public remarks on the problem since December. The Russian military has assembled at least 130,000 troops on Ukraine’s frontier, raising fears of an invasion, despite Moscow’s repeated denials.
Biden announced on Friday that US troops would be deployed to Eastern Europe and NATO countries “in the near term.”
