Russia Condemns The “Destructive” Sending of 3,000 US Troops to Eastern Europe: President Joe Biden has approved the deployment of 3,000 US troops to Eastern Europe, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, as the United States moves to beef up NATO troops looking to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that 1,000 troops from a Stryker Brigade based in Germany will move to Romania to augment the already 900 troops based there, while 2,000 troops from Ft. Bragg, NC will move to Germany. This force includes 1,700 soldiers of an Infantry Brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division and a headquarters element from the 18th Airborne Corps consisting of 300 troops.
“The current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on NATO’s eastern flank,” Kirby said, who added that the US troops will be going to reinforce NATO and not going to fight in Ukraine.
The US has only about 150 troops in Ukraine, mostly Army Green Berets from the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) who have been training Ukrainian troops for several years at Lviv in western Ukraine, as well as National Guard trainers from Florida’s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
“It is important that we send a strong signal to Mr. Putin, and frankly to the world that NATO matters to the United States, and it matters to our allies, and we have iron-clad Article 5 commitments…an attack on one is an attack on all,” he added.
“We are making it clear that we are going to be prepared to defend our NATO allies if it comes to that.”
Russia Condemns “Destructive” Move By US
The Russian government who have already deployed nearly 130,000 troops in a three-sided encirclement of Ukraine reacted angrily at the news of the US deployment.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said to the Interfax news agency that the move by the US was “Not substantiated by anyone, destructive steps which increase military tension and reduce the scope for political decisions,”
On Thursday, Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the US to “stop escalating tensions” in Europe, saying the new troop deployment worsened the situation and adding that Russian concerns about Nato’s eastward expansion are “absolutely justified”.
Al Jazeera reported that the first deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s State Duma, Dmitry Novikov, had also condemned the move by the US, reiterating that it was an absolutely destructive step and that it will complicate the situation, and was an attempt by Washington to hack the negotiation process.
While Russia says it is ready to negotiate, they are not impressed with the diplomacy of the British at the UN calling their efforts as “utterly worthless” as the tensions rise.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Moscow’s deputy ambassador to the UN, in an interview with the UK’s Sky News said that “There is always room for diplomacy, but frankly, we don’t trust British diplomacy.” Russian President Vladimir Putin is slated to speak with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and said that he’s willing to talk to anyone, including the “utterly confused” about the situation.
US Allies Welcome the Move
The announcement that the US is sending troops to Eastern Europe was welcomed by the Polish government as the tensions continue to ratchet up between Russia and their former satellite countries. The Polish government has been pushing for an increased US troop presence in their country for several days.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Thursday, where he will meet with White House officials and then with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the State Department on Friday.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed President Biden’s decision to bolster NATO’s defense.
“This is a powerful signal of U.S. commitment, and comes on top of other recent U.S. contributions to our shared security — including 8,500 troops at high readiness for the NATO Response Force, and the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group under NATO command in the Mediterranean,” Stoltenberg said in a released statement.
Over 220 U.S. Marines and Ukrainian forces, riding in 15 Amphibious vehicles, participated in an amphibious landing operation in Odessa, Ukraine, July 27.
The Russian buildup of military forces was captured by satellite photographs by Maxar Technologies as they show no sign of Russia slowing down its deploying troops to the border with Ukraine. While Putin has claimed that Russia is only reacting to Western aggression, he continues to flood the area with combat troops.
Steve Balestrieri is a 1945 National Security Columnist. He has served as a US Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. In addition to writing for 1945, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and his work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers in Massachusetts.
