Amid mounting fears of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden is considering deploying several thousand US troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe.
On Saturday, the Pentagon presented Biden with several options for ramping up security in the region, the administration officials told the New York Times.
The options include sending 1,000 to 5,000 troops to NATO allies in Eastern Europe, with the potential to increase that number tenfold if the situation deteriorates.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the US president was expected to make a decision on the troop deployment this week.
In recent weeks, tensions rose as Russia massed over 100,000 troops at its border with Ukraine, with Kyiv and the West fearing an imminent attack. Moscow has also demanded that NATO provide legal guarantees that the Alliance will not expand to the east.
On Sunday the US State Department ordered family members of US Embassy personnel in Kyiv to leave the country, citing the threat of possible Russian invasion.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
