President Biden said Friday evening that he will move US troops to Eastern Europe sometime 'in the near term'.
However, he said did not say they would be deployed as part of a NATO force.
'I'll be moving troops to Eastern Europe and the NATO countries in the near term. Not too many,' Biden said as he got off Air Force One after a trip to Pittsburgh.
NATO has failed to come up with a common position on deploying troops to the region with many of its 30-strong members against military action.
Member countries located closer to Russia fear antagonizing Putin while countries such as Germany rely on Russia for 50 per cent of their gas.
Just one country can veto any action by the entire alliance.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon told 8,500 troops in the U.S. to be on high alert for a potential deployment to Eastern Europe, as Russia has already amassed over 100,000 troops at the Ukraine border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the global media in Kiev Friday and pushed back on world leaders who have publicly stressed the prospect of Russian invasion – following a call with President Biden where the president raised the 'distinct possibility' Russian troops would soon overrun his country.
'There are signals even from respected leaders of states, they just say that tomorrow there will be war. This is panic - how much does it cost for our state?' said Zelensky.
He indirectly criticized the decision by the U.S. to pull family members of diplomats out of the country as yet another measure that could feed 'panic' that could be counterproductive.
'We don’t have a Titanic here,' he said.
'I don't consider the situation now more tense than before. There is a feeling abroad that there is war here. That's not the case,' said Zelensky. 'I am not saying an escalation is not possible...(but) we don't need this panic,' he said.
'If war were to break out on the scale and scope that is possible, the civilian population would suffer immensely,' Milley said at the Pentagon. Austin said the 100,000-plus Troops Russia has positioned 'far and away exceeds what we typically see them do for exercises. 'It’s very concerning,' he said.
Replies