U.S. to send 3,000 troops to eastern Europe, Pentagon says they won't fight in Ukraine
CBC
President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 troops from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Poland and Germany this week and shifting roughly 1,000 Germany-based soldiers to Romania, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Biden has said he will not put American troops in Ukraine to fight any Russian incursion, although the United States is supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend itself.
"These forces are not going to fight in Ukraine," said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, reaffirming the American commitment to the defence of the alliance laid out in Article 5 of the NATO treaty. "They are going to ensure the robust defence of our NATO allies."
Kirby said the deployments would take place in the coming days and be under U.S. command. While he characterized them as not being permanent moves, he did say, in response to a reporter question, that — depending on Russian actions — "they could very well be preliminary steps."
WATCH| Estonia's leader speaks to CBC's Power & Politics about the crisis:
The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia over its military buildup at Ukraine's borders. And they underscore growing fears across Europe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to invade Ukraine. Smaller NATO countries on the alliance's eastern flank worry they could be next, although Russia has said it has no intention of initiating conflict and is willing to continue diplomatic efforts.
Biden had said recently that he intended to provide additional U.S. forces to NATO allies in eastern Europe as reassurance of an American commitment as treaty allies.
The Pentagon also has put about 8,500 U.S.-based troops on higher alert for possible deployment to Europe as additional reassurance to allies, and officials have indicated the possibility that additional units could be placed on higher alert soon. The U.S. already has between 75,000 and 80,000 troops in Europe as permanently stationed forces and as part of regular rotations in place such as Poland.
"These movements are unmistakable signals to the world that we stand ready to reassure our NATO allies and deter and defend against any aggression," said Kirby.
Last week, the Canadian government announced it was extending and expanding the existing military training mission in Ukraine, Operation Unifier, adding another 60 troops to the 200 already on the ground. The option to add an additional 140 is also on the table.
WATCH| U.S. says it will help NATO respond forcefully if necessary:
As part of last week's package, the Department of National Defence (DND) said it will also provide Ukraine with non-lethal military equipment, including body armour, metal detectors, thermal binoculars, laser range finders, tactical medical bags and surveillance technology. Lt.-Col. Luc-Frederic Gilbert told CBC News on Tuesday that the equipment is on its way and will arrive this week. He would not say which elements of the Ukrainian military will receive the gear.
Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have mounted in recent months, after Putin deployed more than 100,000 troops to areas near Ukraine's borders — including in neighbouring Belarus — backed by tanks, artillery, helicopters and warplanes. Russian officials have insisted that Moscow has no intention of invading.
Two Republican senators had differing responses to the U.S. announcement. Lindsey Graham said he supported the move in order to "stand firmly against Putin's efforts to divide the alliance," while Josh Hawley decried it as a mistake, stating that it was "just another foreign crisis that this administration has blundered into."
As Vladimir Putin and his large entourage touch down Thursday in Beijing for a two-day state visit, there were be plenty of public overtures about cooperation, but with China facing increasing pressure from the U.S. over its trade relationship with Russia, China's President Xi Jinping will have to figure out how far the country is willing to go to prop up what was once described as a "no-limits" partnership.
Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its military operation closer to the heavily populated central area, in defiance of growing pressure amid the war from close ally the United States and others.