Pentagon Places 8,500 Troops on ‘Excessive Alert’ Amid Ukraine Tensions

WASHINGTON — Protection Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has put 8,500 American troops on “excessive alert” for attainable deployment to Japanese Europe, as NATO and the USA braced for a attainable Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon introduced on Monday.

Many of the 8,500 troops would participate in a NATO response drive that may quickly be activated, mentioned John F. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman. The remaining personnel can be a part of a selected U.S. response to the deepening disaster, Protection Division officers mentioned, most probably to offer assurance to American allies in Japanese Europe who’re fearful that Russia’s plans for Ukraine may prolong to the Baltics and different international locations in NATO’s so-called jap flank.

“It’s very clear the Russians don’t have any intention proper now of de-escalating,” Mr. Kirby mentioned at a information convention on Monday. “What that is about, although, is reassurance to our NATO allies.”

Mr. Kirby’s announcement comes after The New York Instances reported on Sunday that President Biden was contemplating the deployment of a number of thousand U.S. troops, in addition to warships and plane, to NATO allies within the Baltics and Japanese Europe.

The strikes sign a main pivot for the Biden administration, which till not too long ago was taking a restrained stance on Ukraine, out of worry of frightening Russia. However as President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has ramped up his threatening actions towards Ukraine, and talks between American and Russian officers have didn’t discourage him, the Biden administration is shifting away from its earlier technique.

In a gathering on Saturday at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, senior Pentagon officers offered the president with a number of choices that may result in a shift in U.S. navy belongings a lot nearer to Russia’s doorstep, administration officers mentioned.