The US is considering an expansion of its military presence in Eastern Europe. Photo: US Department of Defense
The United States authorities are considering expanding the military presence in Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries amid the increased threats from Russia in the region. This refers to sending several thousand troops, as well as aircraft and ships to the US allies in the North Atlantic Alliance, NYT reports.
According to the outlet, this weekend, the Pentagon presented US President Joe Biden with several options that would help deploy US military assets closer to "Putin's doorstep." One of them includes sending from 1,000 to 5,000 troops to the region with the potential to increase their number tenfold if the situation deteriorates. According to the Biden administration officials, the deployment of additional forces in Eastern Europe is exactly the scenario that Russia wanted to prevent. Also, the US Department of Defense insists on conducting "joint exercises in Poland, the Baltic countries, Romania, and Bulgaria to show Putin that we are serious."
"This is a response to the sudden stationing of Russian troops in Belarus, on the border, essentially, with NATO. There is no way that NATO could not reply to such a sudden military move in this political context. The Kremlin needs to understand that they are only escalating the situation with all of these deployments and increasing the danger to all parties, including themselves." Evelyn Farkas, the Pentagon official for Russia and Ukraine during the Obama administration, stated.
However, none of the presented options includes the deployment of U.S. troops in Ukraine. Biden should make the final decision on strengthening the U.S. presence in Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries this week, sources told the NYT.
Context. Today, about 4,000 American troops and 1,000 military personnel from other NATO countries are stationed in Poland. There are currently about 4,000 troops of the North Atlantic Alliance in the Baltic countries.
Last week it became known that, given the actions of the Russian Federation, the North Atlantic Alliance had decided to strengthen its position in Eastern Europe, which goes against the requirements of the Russian Federation not to expand the bloc to the East. To deter aggression, Spain and Canada sent their warships to the Black Sea, Denmark announced the dispatch of its frigate to the Baltic Sea, and France offered to redeploy troops to Romania.