US Keeps 8,500 Troops on Standby To Assist NATO if Russia Invades Ukraine
Ukrainian security experts say, however, that Russian preparations are insufficient for a full-blown invasion.
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The United States (US) has kept 8,500 troops on standby to deploy to Europe as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) warships and jets are being lined up on the eastern borders with the growing likelihood of an attack by Russia on Ukraine.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said that US troops would join NATO's Response Force (NRF) if the latter is activated.
"In the event of Nato’s activation of the NRF or a deteriorating security environment, the United States would be in a position to rapidly deploy additional brigade combat teams, logistics, medical, aviation, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, transportation and additional capabilities into Europe," Kirby was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
US President Joe Biden, on Monday, 24 January, took part in a video conference with the leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom (UK), Italy, Poland, the European Union and other NATO nations in order to maintain unity in the face of Russian aggression.
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said on Monday that Russia had deployed enough troops close to the Ukrainian border for a "lightning" strike on Kyiv.
Additionally, Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus and a very close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that he will station a "whole contingent of the army" on the Ukrainian border, alleging that the Kyiv has started amassing troops and he "doesn't understand why."
Finally, Ukrainian security experts say that the current Russian preparations are insufficient for a full-blown invasion.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of the national security and defence council, told the BBC that he did not expect an invasion and was not as panicked as Ukraine's western allies.
(With inputs from The Guardian and BBC.)
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