President Joe Biden orders US forces to Europe amid fears of Russian invasion of Ukraine

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. 

Washington: President Joe Biden is ordering 2,000 US-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 more from Germany to Romania, demonstrating to both allies and foes America's commitment to NATO's eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Thursday.

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. But 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, referring to Putin's buildup of 100,000 troops there.

The Biden administration is aiming to demonstrate US resolve without undermining efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. Biden notably has not sent military reinforcements to the three Baltic countries on NATO's eastern flank, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that are former states of the Soviet Union.