U.S. President Joe Biden has approved the deployment of about 3,000 additional American troops to Eastern Europe, administration officials said on Wednesday, as Washington reinforces its allies against what it describes as a Russian threat to invade Ukraine.
One of the officials said about 2,000 American troops would deploy from the United States to Poland and Germany, while around 1,000 troops now based in Germany would head to Romania.
The president’s decision comes days after Pentagon leaders said that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had deployed the necessary troops and military hardware to conduct an invasion of Ukraine. Senior Defense Department officials also said that the tense standoff was leading the United States, its NATO allies, and Russia into uncharted territory.
Russian troops have already assembled more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, denies any plan to invade its neighbor but says it could take unspecified military measures if demands are not met.
There are currently 4,000 American troops deployed to Poland, as well as about 100 U.S. forces in Lithuania, and 60 in Latvia and Estonia on temporary, rotational assignments.
“Our rotational forces are deliberate and defensive in nature and allow us to remain agile and flexible with our NATO allies to address the complex and dynamic security environment in which we operate,” said Lt. Col. Tony Semelroth, a Pentagon spokesman