Tells 8,500 U.S. troops to be ready for possible deployment.
The Pentagon has put 8,500 American troops on heightened alert for the possibility of deployment to bolster NATO forces amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made no final decision on deployment, but the order is about ensuring that the United States is ready to respond if NATO decides to deploy its response force. “What this is about is reassurance to our NATO allies,” Mr. Kirby said.
NATO is already outlining potential troop and ship deployments. Britain said it would withdraw some diplomats from Kyiv, and Ireland denounced upcoming Russian war games off its coasts as unwelcome. Russia is conducting some form of activity near Iceland, bringing concerns to Canada.
Russia has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border, demanding that NATO promise it will never allow Ukraine to join and that other actions, such as stationing alliance troops in former Soviet bloc countries, be curtailed. Russia denies it is planning an invasion of Ukraine, and says Western accusations are merely a cover-up for NATO’s own planned provocations.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Secretary Austin and Pentagon officials as preparations are made to support Ukraine militarily.
- For discernment for the president as commander in chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- For U.S. troops as they get ready for deployments.
Sources: ABC News, Fox News, CTV News
