President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania as demonstrations of America’s commitments to allies on NATO’s eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Russia fired back with a sharply worded objection, calling the deployments unfounded and “destructive.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a new telephone exchange with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Readouts from both governments showed no progress, with Putin saying the West was giving no ground on Russia’s security concerns and Johnson expressing deep concern about Russia’s “hostile activity” on the Ukrainian border.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the soon-to-deploy U.S. forces are intended to temporarily bolster U.S. and allied defensive positions and will not enter Ukraine.
“These are not permanent moves,” he said, stressing that the purpose is to reassure allies at a time of heightened tension over Russia’s buildup of an estimated 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders. Kirby said Russia had continued its buildup, even in the previous 24 hours, despite U.S. urgings that it deescalate.
