President Joe Biden is considering options for boosting America’s military assets in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, including warships and aircraft, as rumors swirled over plans for an invasion by Russia.
Senior administration officials confirmed that it was after discussions with the top national security advisers of his Camp David retreat.
The British Foreign Office claimed that Moscow planned to invade Ukraine and establish a puppet government.
In Ukrainian politics and media, both the surprise and skeptical reactions to these claims have been mixed.
Nevertheless, The New York Times said Biden was mulling plans to send between 1,000 and 5,000 troops to Eastern European countries including Romania and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Should tensions get worse, it is possible to increase troop levels up to 50,000.
Senior administration officials declined to give specific numbers but stated that plans are being developed and they are in consultation with their allies so options can be determined moving forward.
The meetings were attended virtually by Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary, and Gen. Mark Milley (Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff).
Biden may consider sending thousands of American soldiers, along with warships or aircraft to NATO ally nations located in Eastern Europe and Baltics.
Oleksii Reznikov (Ukraine’s Defense Minister) tweeted that Sunday night the United States sent another shipment of weapons to Ukraine.
After allegedly delivering 80 tonnes of weapons, a cargo plane was captured in Ukraine.
The president is keen to stay out of another conflict and has not considered any of the options.
Biden will likely make a decision by the end of this week, but weaponry appears to be on the move.
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, tweeted Sunday night that the United States had sent a second shipment to the country.
“The second bird in Kyiv!” Our friends from the USA have donated more than 80 tonnes of weapons to Ukraine in order to improve its defense capabilities. Reznikov shared photos and tweeted that “this is not the final” with photos of incendiary cargo.
At the briefing, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and General Mark Milley, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, were both present virtually
Photo of President Joe Biden meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 20, 2021
As part of the meeting, Jake Sullivan (national security advisor) and Steve Ricchetti (counsel to the President) joined Biden at Camp David.
“President Biden was updated on current Russian military operations along Ukraine’s borders. We discussed diplomacy efforts and the range of deterrence actions that we are coordinating closely with our Allies, partners and including continued deliveries of security support to Ukraine.
According to a briefing, President Biden stated that Russia should invade Ukraine once again. The United States would then impose severe and swift sanctions on Russia, along with its Allies and Partners.
The ultimate goal of any military reinforcement in Eastern Europe would be to provide deterrence to the allies and reassurance.
The options include the ‘movement of assets and forces already in Europe and also assets and forces available outside of Europe.’
Biden is considering a novel export control policy that would affect certain Russian industries. This could include artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and aerospace.
The Washington Post reports that it involves the U.S. preventing the flow of microchips and other components, which are vital for Russian industries, including maritime, civil aviation, high-tech, and civil aviation.
However, Russia could be prevented from importing smartphones, tablets, or video games consoles to the U.S. by the Administration in an even more expansive manner.
The U.S. stated that it had ordered the removal of family members eligible to work at its Embassy in Kyiv (Ukraine), pictured here in 2017.
In Kyiv’s city park, Ukraine, members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces (volunteer military units of Armed Forces) train. Fears about Russian invasion have prompted a number of civils to join Ukraine’s army reserve in the last few weeks.
If the U.S. decides to send more troops into the region, this would mark a significant change in strategy for the Biden government, who has so far been careful about Ukraine and partly tried to keep Russia out of the country.
Biden would approve the deployment of some troops, while others would come from Europe.
Commandos suggested more forces for air defense, logistics, and engineering.
Biden might also be open to additional aircraft being flown into the region, along with the troops.
Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to escalate tensions and threaten actions against Ukraine after Friday’s failed talks between Russia and the U.S.
Sources told The Times that the U.S. now wants to move away from the previous position of not wanting provoke Russian government.
At a Camp David meeting over the weekend Pentagon officials discussed a range of options with President Biden. Some would have the American military move closer towards the Russian border.
According to sources, there are the possibility of sending up to 50,000 if necessary.
Biden stated last week that he had warned Putin about a Russian invasion of Ukraine. This would lead to more U.S. military troops being deployed in the region.
Biden indicated that the United States would actually boost troop presences in Poland, Romania and other countries if Mr. Obama moves. They belong to NATO.
Biden would approve the deployment. Some troops would come from America, while others would have been drafted from Europe.
A Russian rocket-launcher fired in December during Russian military drills close to Orenburg in The Urals. Russia has tens to thousands of troops stationed near Ukraine. The Kremlin kept America and its allies in suspense about what it would do next in its worst Russia-West security crisis.
In Kyiv’s city park, Ukraine, members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces (volunteer military units of Armed Forces) train. Fears about Russian invasion have prompted a number of civils to join Ukraine’s army reserve in the last few weeks.
At the Stand With Ukraine demonstration in Union Square, New York, NATO and American flags can be seen. Ukrainian activists and Russian speakers demonstrated against the Russian invasion threats to Ukraine.
The Geneva talks last week did not produce any breakthroughs. However, American and Russian diplomats pledged to continue a dialogue in order to avoid the worst case scenario.
Sergey Lavrov (Russian Foreign Affairs Minister) stated that Moscow still needs a response in writing to it’s demands for security assurances. Blinken denied that he could provide such a response.
He called Russia’s demands to limit NATO expansion as “non-starters” and also included two other key Russian demands.
Antony Blinken Secretary of State suggested that the Kremlin may be merely ‘going through all of the motions’ in diplomacy following a week’s intense international negotiations aimed to de-escalate Russian aggression at Ukraine’s border.
After returning from Europe to attend diplomatic talks, Blinken appeared on a number of Sunday news programs
Despite meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva Friday, Blinken acknowledged on NBC’s Meet The Press, that Moscow may still try to conquer the small former Soviet republic despite Western governments trying.
During a separate interview with CNN, the US’s Chief Diplomat said that the US could not exclude possible military intervention in the worsening conflict.
NBC’s Chuck Todd was informed by Blinken that it is possible for the Russians to engage in diplomacy. This won’t impact their final decision on whether or not they invade, in any other way, or in Ukraine.
“But we must see diplomacy through as much as we possibly can, because that’s the most responsible and effective way to close this matter.
Blinken didn’t indicate the date of a potential invasion, but he also refused to give an answer straight when asked whether Kyiv “appears safe at least for the short term.”
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, at the US Embassy in Kyiv, January 19, 2022
He said, “This is again something that we are tracking intensively, hour after hour, and sure day by day,”
In his CNN interview, Blinken increased his cautions to Moscow. He claimed that it would only take one soldier to cause a worldwide reaction.
He stated that if a Russian military force enters Ukraine aggressively, like I mentioned, it would trigger an immediate, severe, and united European response.
Vladimir Putin already has more than 100,000 soldiers at Ukraine’s border. Last week, Blinken said that Russia could quickly double this number. Moscow said that it does not intend to invade Ukraine.
The State Department stated that the United States had ordered families of diplomats living in Kyiv, Ukraine, to evacuate the country on Sunday “due to the continuing threat” of an invasion by Russia.
Washington authorized the “voluntary” departure of its non-essential diplomatic staff. It also urged citizens from the Eastern European countries to “consider leaving now,” as it is not in a position in Moscow to evacuate them.