President Joe Biden approved the deployment of thousands of U.S. troops to Eastern Europe as tensions continue to grow between Ukraine and Russia.
- “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,” a senior administration official said, according to NBC News.
What’s happening: The president approved the Pentagon sending 2,000 troops from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to Germany and Poland.
- An extra 1,000 troops in Germany will be moved to Romania.
- These troops will be under the U.S. command — not NATO, the Western alliance.
- Officials said the troops will deploy in the next few days, according to CNN.
Yes, but: “These forces are not going to fight in Ukraine,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Wednesday, according to CNN.
State of play: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of trying to draw Russia into a war with Ukraine, saying that the U.S. wants to stoke tension so that the country can put sanctions on Russia, BBC News reports.
At the same time, new satellite images released this week showed that Russia is still building up its military camp on the border Ukraine, adding tents and equipment that suggest soldiers might move in soon, Sky News reports.
- “The pictures show an increase in tents designed to accommodate troops at a number of Russian bases,” according to Sky News.