LONDON – As a result of Russia invasion on Ukraine and the United States have sent thousands of troops to Europe. Even before the attack, President Biden escalated the US military presence in Poland, which shares a key land border with Ukraine.
In February alone, 12,000 US-based forces were sent to Europe.
But how many American soldiers are there in Europe? According to the US Department of Defense at the end of February, the total number is about 90,000, including some soldiers transferred from European bases to be closer to Russia and Ukraine.
In particular, President Biden ordered Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to mobilize forces to the Baltic republics, Poland and the southeastern flank of Ukraine, said the Ministry of Defense. Austin ordered 800 troops from Italy to move to the Baltic region and 1,000 troops from Germany to Romania. Authorities said the move was only temporary.
“These additional personnel are repositioning to reassure our NATO allies, deter any potential aggression against NATO member states and train with host country forces,” a senior US defense official said in a statement.
US soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and military vehicles are seen at the temporary US military base at Arlamov Airport in Poland on February 24. (Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Both the United States and its allies have repeatedly stressed that their troops are not being sent for a direct battle with Russian troops in Ukraine, although NATO and others are sending military supplies to Ukrainians in an attempt to strengthen their defenses.
“It’s a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at each other.” Biden told NBC News last month when asked about the fight against Russia.
The United States clearly hopes that Russia will see the same risk if the Kremlin succeeds in conquering Ukraine and seeks to attack all NATO countries that were once part of the Soviet empire. The Baltic countries – Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia – as well as Poland, Hungary and Romania, all of which border Russia or Ukraine, are on the brink.
But military deployments to deter potential Russian aggression are nothing new. For decades after World War II, the United States maintained large military bases in Europe during the Cold War, in which Washington and Moscow threatened each other with nuclear destruction in a protracted nuclear war.
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And it’s not just troops. During the Cold War, the United States had more than 2,500 nuclear warheads in Europe, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union more than four decades ago – forming states like Ukraine – that number declined rapidly. The United States has 12 air bases stretching from the United Kingdom to Turkey. US Navy bases are also dotted across the continent, and NATO fleets are patrolling the Mediterranean during the Ukrainian conflict.
As Russian attacks continue to rage, Ukraine is also seeking financial and humanitarian aid. On February 27, the Biden administration, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US State Department, announced that it would provide an additional $ 54 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
“This additional assistance will support our partners in providing much-needed health care, safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene supplies and protection for vulnerable children,” a USAID statement said. It added: “This includes critical emergency health supplies to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of people, as well as emergency food aid to meet the immediate needs of 125,000 people.
Since the beginning of the Russian conflict in Ukraine in 2014, the United States has provided nearly $ 405 million in humanitarian aid.
Where are Russian forces attacking Ukraine? Check out this explanation from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
