As Joe Biden contemplates keeping special forces in Eastern Europe in case of invasion, the U.S. has begun flying surveillance over Ukraine.
Since late December, the Air Force has been regularly flying RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic-eavesdropping planes over Ukraine in order to listen in on Russian ground commanders’ communications, The New York Times reported Sunday.
According to the article, ground-surveillance aircraft with E-8 JSTARS are also being used by the Air Force in tracking Russian troop buildsup near Ukraine’s border as well as movements of Kremlin troops.
Biden wants to use spy planes in order to identify signs that Russia may be planning to deploy nuclear weapons along the Ukraine-Russia border. Russian officials already warn of the possibility.
In conjunction with sending more troops – which the Times says Biden is considering deploying 50,000 – the president is also looking at approving sending more aircraft to the region.
An NBC News report says that Biden presented some options to him at his Camp David meeting Saturday. They include sending bomber planes over the region and ship visits into Black Sea. Also, moving equipment and troops from Europe into Poland, Romania, and neighboring countries like Ukraine.
The Polish defense ministry reports that there are about 4,000 U.S. military personnel stationed here at present.
Additionally, there are more than 150 U.S. military advisors currently in Ukraine. They have been operating at the training grounds near Lviv for many years. This includes Special Operations troops, mostly Army Green Berets and National Guard trainers of Florida’s 53rd Intry Brigade Combat team.
According to the Times, while the U.S. will quickly remove its military training staff from Ukraine, there is also the possibility that American forces may remain in Kyiv to provide support and advice to officials.
As the U.S. spy planes hover over Ukraine, and its border borders, Biden is considering leaving special forces in case Russia invades. Biden and his national security team are seen at Camp David discussing the Russia-Ukraine crises.
Since late December, the Air Force has been regularly flying RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic-eavesdropping planes (pictured) over Ukraine to listen in on Russian ground commanders. The Air Force also operates ground surveillance flights using E-8 JSTARS in order to track Russian troop movement and buildup at Ukraine’s borders.
Texas Republican Representative Michael McCaul (ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee) stated that the U.S. should train more NATO members.
McCaul stated that Putin needs joint exercises in Poland and the Baltic States as well as Romania, Romania, and Bulgaria to prove it. He doesn’t believe we are serious right now.
The Times reports that Biden might deploy up to 50k troops, warships and aircraft in eastern Europe as part of a counter-Russian military buildup.
Moscow’s recent activities have triggered international concerns that Russia President Vladimir Putin may be about to invade Ukraine.
Biden presented the plan to President Obama at a Camp David summit over the weekend. It would send between 1,000 to 5,000 troops to NATO countries such as Lithuania and Estonia, which borders Russian territory.
If security conditions worsen, troop numbers can be raised to up to 50,000 with the support of new deployments by ships and planes.
Biden was presented with the Pentagon’s plan at Camp David by officials of the Pentagon as they met to discuss military options in order to prevent an attack from Russia.
According to the Times, it would not include American troops being deployed to Ukraine directly. However, Biden is believed to be reluctant to engage in another conflict after his disasterous withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.
The Times reported that Biden will make a request for military action as early as next week. This is despite high-level negotiations between Washington and Moscow continuing. However, the U.S. should submit a written reply to Russian security requests.
The Times says this is a shift in Biden’s strategy. It claims that the administration has shifted away from do-not provoke. [Russia] strategy.’
The White House is not so sure, noting what Biden said last week during his press conference: “We will actually increase troop presences in Poland and Romania, etc. if he moves.”
The president publicly stated that he would deploy troops to Eastern Europe should the Russians invade. I’m not sure how NYT’s story supports this. Playbook’s Monday morning edition featured a White House senior official as an interview.
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, tweeted Sunday night that the United States had sent a second shipment to the country.
The cargo plane that allegedly delivered 80 tons of weapons to Ukraine was photographed in Ukraine
Families of US diplomats in Ukraine received warnings by the Pentagon about an imminent invasion. They were then ordered to evacuate the country.
Due to “increased threats by Russian military action”, non-essential staff at embassy were offered an escape route.
The UK is also withdrawing its diplomats from Ukraine and their families.
Sources told BBC that half of the diplomatic staff in Kiev and their families will be leaving the country.
Sources said that the move is not due any particular threat to Britons, but to the rising risk of Russian aggression.
However, the EU warned Monday against “dramatizing” the situation and stated that it does not plan to pull its diplomats out of the country.
Josep Borrell is the EU’s highest diplomat and said that he does not know any specific reasons to remove diplomatic staff. He also stated that negotiations are continuing.
This comes just days after the UK claimed that Moscow had been making preparations for a puppet government in Ukraine to control it following any invasion.
Even the Foreign Office went as far as to identify Yevhen Murayev, a former Ukrainian MP as a possible candidate for Kremlin.
Senior officials from the Biden Administration declined to provide specific troop numbers, but stated that they were developing plans and are working with allies in order to decide on options.
Both Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary and General Mark Milley, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff attended these meetings via video conference.
With the President keen to avoid another conflict, none of the available military options would allow the US to send additional troops to Ukraine.
Biden could make a decision this week. However, it seems that weaponry may already be in motion.
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.
The plan was presented by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. It included the deployment of up to 50,000 U.S. forces and warships, as well as aircraft, to NATO ally nations located in Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and Eastern Europe.
Pictured: President Joe Biden with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 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 received an update on Russian military operations at Ukraine’s border. He also discussed our efforts to deescalate this situation using diplomacy, as well as our deterrence strategies that are closely coordinated with our Allies. This includes ongoing delivery of security aid to Ukraine.
“President Biden reiterated that if Russia invades Ukraine again, the United States would impose swift, severe sanctions on Russia and our Allies,’ reads the summary of the briefing.
The purpose of military reinforcement in Eastern Europe is to deterrence and to reassure allies.
The options include the ‘movement of assets and forces already in Europe and also assets and forces available outside of Europe.’
Biden’s administration also plans to use a “novel export controls” that could cause damage to certain Russian industries such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, in the event of an invasion.
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 high tech.
However, Russia could be prevented from importing smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles made in the U.S. by the Administration.
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.
The U.S. could send additional troops to the area if it decides to do so. This would signal a shift in tact by the Biden administration, which has been cautious about Ukraine’s situation, partially to prevent Russia from invading.
Biden would approve the deployment of some troops, while others would come from Europe.
Commandos suggested more forces for air defense, engineering and logistics.
Biden may also authorize additional aircraft to be sent to the area, in addition 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.
The U.S. has now abandoned its earlier stance that it did not want to provoke Russia’s administration, according to sources who spoke with the Times.
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.
Sources claim that up to 50,000.
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.
In December, a Russian rocket launcher fired at Orenburg in The Urals (Russia). 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.
Stand With Ukraine protest in Union Square (New York) featured NATO and American flags. Activists from Ukraine and members of the Russian diaspora demonstrated during the Russian invasion threat to the Ukraine
The Geneva talks ended last week without any breakthroughs. However, American and Russian diplomats promised to maintain a dialogue, in an effort to prevent the worst.
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs said Moscow is still waiting to receive a written reply on its security guarantee demands. This was something that Blinken stated he wouldn’t provide.
Two of Russia’s most important demands for limiting NATO expansion were also described by him as ‘nonstarters’
After a week-long international dialogue aimed at deescalating Russian aggression against Ukraine’s borders, Antony Blinken, Secretary of State said Sunday that it was possible Kremlin officials were just “going through the motions” of diplomacy.
After returning from Europe to attend diplomatic talks, Blinken appeared on a number of Sunday news programs
Even though he had met with Sergei Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister), in Geneva, on Friday, Blinken said on Meet The Press on NBC that Moscow might still attempt to invade the former Soviet state despite Western efforts.
During a separate interview with CNN, the US’s Chief Diplomat said that the US could not exclude possible military intervention in the conflict.
NBC host Chuck Todd told Blinken, “It’s certainly possible that they are engaging in diplomacy but it won’t affect the final decision whether to invade or intervene in Ukraine.”
“But we must see diplomacy through as much as possible, 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 embassies in Kyiv on February 19, 2022
He stated, “This again is something we’re monitoring intensely, hour to hour and certain day to 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 cause a rapid, 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.