{"id":31351,"date":"2022-02-02T14:43:42","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T14:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/02\/02\/biden-sending-more-troops-to-europe-amid-ukraine-tension\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:58:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:58:00","slug":"biden-sending-more-troops-to-europe-amid-ukraine-tension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/02\/biden-sending-more-troops-to-europe-amid-ukraine-tension\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden sending 2,000 more troops to Europe amid Ukraine tension"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thousands of U.S. troops will be deployed to Germany, Romania and Poland in reaction to the Russian build up of troops near Ukraine<\/a>, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among them will be 1,000 members of a Germany-based mechanized infantry unit, joining 900 troops already deployed to Romania for a training mission, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another 2,000, including members of an 82nd Airborne Division brigade combat team and a headquarters element from the XVIII Airborne Corps, both based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will head to Germany and Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to be very clear about something. These are not permanent moves,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cThey are designed to respond to the current security environment. Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine. They\u2019re going to ensure the robust defense of our NATO allies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirby did not rule out, however, that 82nd Airborne troops could be tasked with securing a non-combatant evacuation in Ukraine, as its 1st Brigade Combat Team did in August at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I think you\u2019ve heard the secretary say on Friday, our troops are multi-mission capable and they will be prepared for a range of contingencies,and I won\u2019t go any further than that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These troops are in addition to 8,500 stateside troops put on heightened alert last week, Kirby said. The majority of those would be deployed in support of the NATO Response Force, if it is activated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere have been additional forces put on prepare to deploy orders or shorten tethers,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019m not prepared to go into great detail today about that, but yes, there have been additional ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while additional troops are heading to these initial three countries now, it\u2019s possible that they and others already in Europe could move around in the coming days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere could be other movements inside Europe, intra-theater moves that we would speak to we\u2019re not ruling that out,\u201d Kirby. \u201cWe\u2019re also not ruling out the possibility that additional forces from the United States could deploy to Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia<\/a> over its military buildup at Ukraine\u2019s borders. And they underscore growing fears across Europe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to invade Ukraine. Smaller NATO countries on the alliance\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military moves not yet announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\t