“At the President’s direction and Secretary Austin’s recommendation, the Department of Defense will reposition certain Europe-based units further east, forward deploy additional US-based units to Europe, and maintain the heightened state of readiness of response forces to meet these commitments,” a senior administration official said in a statement to The Hill.
“These forces are not going to fight in Ukraine. They are not permanent moves. They respond to current conditions,” the official added.
News of the deployment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper, the troops will be deployed to Germany and Poland.
Russia has amassed upward of 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine, and the Biden administration is now warning that a military incursion of Ukraine is imminent.
The Pentagon last month put 8,500 troops on high alert to deploy, largely to bolster NATO’s response force. However, President Biden has been clear that no US forces will be deployed directly to Ukraine.
