{"id":135659,"date":"2021-11-05T18:58:03","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T18:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/11\/05\/send-ukraine-us-troops-weapons-key-republicans-tell-biden\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:03:41","slug":"send-ukraine-us-troops-weapons-key-republicans-tell-biden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/11\/05\/send-ukraine-us-troops-weapons-key-republicans-tell-biden\/","title":{"rendered":"Send troops to Black Sea and weapons to Ukraine, key Republicans tell Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Republican Reps. Mike Rogers and Mike Turner are urging U.S. President Joe Biden to further arm Ukraine<\/a> and \u201cdeploy a U.S. military presence in the Black Sea\u201d to warn off a renewed invasion threat from Russian forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the recent massing of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border, we urge your administration to take immediate and swift action to provide support to Ukraine in the form of intelligence and weapons,\u201d Rogers, of Alabama, and Turner, of Ohio, said Friday in a letter to Biden, which was obtained by Defense News. Rogers and Turner are the ranking members of, respectively, the House Armed Services Committee and Strategic Forces Subcommittee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also urge your administration to deploy a U.S. military presence in the Black Sea to deter a Russian invasion,\u201d the letter says, adding Biden\u2019s administration \u201ccannot ignore Russia\u2019s continued threat to international law and Ukraine\u2019s territorial sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdditionally, we urge you to immediately consider an appropriate U.S. military presence and posture in the region and to initiate appropriate intelligence sharing activities between the U.S. and Ukraine to prevent the situation from escalating further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call comes as Ukraine\u2019s defense ministry said Wednesday there are 90,000 Russian troops not far from the border and in rebel-controlled areas in Ukraine\u2019s east. Satellite images<\/a> showed a buildup of armored units, tanks and self-propelled artillery as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussia has periodically deployed and built up troops to maintain tensions in the region and exert political pressure on neighboring countries,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine and Romania<\/a> told Congress last week Western allies should step up their military presence in the Black Sea to counter Russia\u2019s militarization of the region. Ukraine said it wants Washington\u2019s backing for a NATO force on the Black Sea akin to its Baltic Sea force, which has multinational battalion-size battlegroups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signs a guestbook after bi-later meetings with Romanian Minister of Defense Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca, Bucharest, Romania, Oct. 20, 2021. (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Russia has cast its weight behind a separatist insurgency in Ukraine\u2019s east that erupted shortly after Moscow\u2019s 2014 annexation of Ukraine\u2019s Crimean Peninsula and has left more than 14,000 people dead. Russia has repeatedly denied any presence of its troops in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several Republican lawmakers, including the Senate Armed Services Committee\u2019s ranking member, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.<\/a>, have posted on social media lamenting the new massing of troops and suggesting the Biden administration act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rogers and Turner noted Russia has stepped up its aggressive behavior and rhetoric both touting its own military modernization and criticism of Ukraine\u2019s ambitions to join NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough Russia\u2019s intentions are uncertain, the presence of Russia\u2019s elite 1st Guard Tanks Army lends credibility to concerns that Russia is planning additional incursions into Ukraine territory,\u201d Rogers and Turner write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They note that since the Biden administration committed $60 million in military aid this past summer, Russia\u2019s military activity has increased. They called on the administration to increase lethal aid to Ukraine \u201cto deter and repel a renewed Russian incursion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited NATO ally Romania and alliance aspirants Ukraine and Georgia as part of a tour to reassure the allies and to urge them to cooperate on the Black Sea. During the trip, which ended at NATO\u2019s Brussels headquarters, neither Austin nor NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg unveiled plans for any force increases on the Black Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Joe Biden served in the Senate for much of the Cold War\u2014he should know Vladimir Putin won\u2019t stop his aggression until he is forced into a defensive posture by united Western pressure.https:\/\/t.co\/1cFB31xX6V<\/a><\/p>— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) November 5, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>