Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III will journey to Belgium, Poland and Lithuania this week to debate Russia’s army buildup round Ukraine with leaders in every nation, the Pentagon introduced on Monday.
Mr. Austin will depart on Tuesday for Brussels, the place he’ll seek the advice of with NATO leaders, earlier than touring to Poland to go to American troops and to Lithuania to satisfy with Baltic leaders, stated John F. Kirby, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman.
Russian reinforcements proceed to circulation in with no proof that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is veering away from army motion in Ukraine, Mr. Kirby instructed reporters on the Pentagon. “He is doing all the things you would expect him to do to make sure he’s ready for that option or options,” Mr. Kirby stated.
Mr. Kirby dismissed Russian assertions that the buildup of some 130,000 troops was merely seasonal land and naval drills. “It strains credulity to think that they would have this many troops arrayed along the border with Ukraine and in Belarus simply for winter exercises,” he stated.
The Pentagon on Friday ordered 3,000 extra troops to Poland, bringing to five,000 the variety of reinforcements despatched to Europe prior to now two weeks.
The goal of the troops, practically all from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., shall be to reassure NATO allies that whereas the United States doesn’t intend to ship troops into Ukraine, President Biden would shield America’s NATO allies from any Russian aggression. Poland borders Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, an in depth ally of Russia.
Also on Monday, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Lt. Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s army, mentioned the “security environment in Eastern Europe” throughout a telephone name, the Joint Staff stated in a press release.
“Ukraine is a key partner to NATO and plays a critical role in maintaining peace and stability in Europe,” it stated.
