Worsening Ukraine Crisis... US "Prepared to Deploy 8,500 Troops"

On the 23rd (local time), a military instructor is training members of the 'Territorial Defense Force,' a civil defense unit supported by the government, in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The Biden administration in the United States has entered a readiness posture to deploy thousands of U.S. troops, warships, and military aircraft to Eastern Europe in preparation for a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to major foreign media, on the 24th (local time), the U.S. Department of Defense raised its readiness to deploy 8,500 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe in response to the worsening situation in Ukraine. Department of Defense spokesperson John Kirby confirmed at a briefing that this was under the direction of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. However, he added that no decision has yet been made on whether to actually deploy the troops.

President Biden held a video conference with European leaders starting at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day. This was due to the increased likelihood of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, and it is reported that decisions regarding troop deployment were also discussed during the meeting.

Participants in this video conference included Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (EU), Charles Michel, President of the EU Council, Emmanuel Macron, President of France, Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy, Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The New York Times (NYT), citing sources, reported that "President Biden was briefed at Camp David the previous day by Department of Defense officials on a plan to initially deploy 1,000 to 5,000 U.S. troops to Eastern European countries," and "the deployment of thousands of U.S. troops to NATO member countries in the eastern region such as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania is a scenario that Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to avoid." It is evaluated that the Biden administration, which had been cautious about military intervention such as troop deployment under a strategy not to provoke Russia, may now change its stance.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, 90 tons of weapons including anti-tank weapons and missiles worth $200 million (approximately 239 billion KRW), which the U.S. promised to support last month, have recently arrived in Ukraine by air and land.

Earlier, the U.S. Department of State ordered the families of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to evacuate the day before. Along with this, the highest level travel advisory for Ukraine was reissued. The Department of State stated in a release that there are reports of Russia planning a significant military action targeting Ukraine.

Along with troop deployment, further sanctions against Russia are expected. The Washington Post (WP), citing multiple officials, reported that if Russia invades Ukraine, the Biden administration is preparing measures to regulate exports of products related to artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing to strike at strategic industries that President Putin is focusing on.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.