The Pentagon has placed 8,500 troops on "alert status" in case the president, Joe Biden, agrees with his NATO allies, with whom he meets this Monday by videoconference, to reinforce the military deployment in Eastern Europe in the face of the threat of a Russian invasion in Ukraine, as confirmed in a press conference by John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the Department of Defense.
"This force has not yet been activated. That is NATO's decision. But
we are ready in case we are asked to intervene
," Kirby said.
"They have not yet been assigned a mission, a mobilization order has not been issued," he reiterated.
Kirby added that the troops on alert perform logistics, medical, surveillance, transportation, and support functions, etc.
"We continue to consult with allies as to what they might need," he added.
In addition, Biden
will consider severe economic consequences against Russia
to deter President Vladimir Putin.
An instructor trains members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, in a city park in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, January 22, 2022. Efrem Lukatsky / AP
Kirby added that they are watching the situation "very closely" and that they will know how to recognize actions that already indicate an invasion.
The US and its allies are studying a deployment in countries near Ukraine due to the concentration of more than 100,000 soldiers by Moscow on the border with its neighbor, and
without any diplomatic progress in sight in this crisis.
NATO said on Monday that it was sending warships and warplanes to Eastern Europe, and the United States "has also made it clear that it
is considering increasing its military presence in the eastern part
of the Alliance," the Pentagon said.
[US Sends “Lethal Aid” To Ukraine Amid Rising Tensions With Russia]
The White House said Biden plans to speak this afternoon via video conference with his leaders about Russia's military buildup on the Ukraine border, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg;
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson;
the Polish president, Andrzej Duda;
French President Emmanuel Macron;
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz;
and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, has asked the White House for
a briefing on the situation
, according to a source familiar with the matter.
[USA. orders non-essential staff at Ukrainian embassy to leave country as fears of invasion grow]
Among the options the US military considered before an invasion were bombing flights over the region, ship visits to the Black Sea, and the transfer of troops and some equipment from other parts of Europe to Poland, Romania, and other neighboring countries. Ukraine, as reported by NBC News.
