WASHINGTON. On Thursday, the Pentagon said it was sending an additional 7,000 troops to Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine kicked off the biggest ground war in Europe since World War II.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered an armored brigade combat team to be sent to Germany to appease NATO allies, the Pentagon said in a statement. In particular, US military officials want to send another signal: As long as the United States stays away from Ukraine, it will not hesitate to act if Russian President Vladimir Putin turns his attention to a member of the Atlantic Alliance.
The deployment will bring up to 14,000 US troops that President Biden has ordered sent to Europe since the start of the Ukraine crisis. Their arrival will increase the number of American troops in Europe to almost 100,000.
The move comes after Mr. Biden warned on Thursday that the United States would “intervene” if Mr. Putin took any action against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.
This week, the Pentagon deployed six F-35 fighter jets and a host of other combat aircraft to Eastern Europe to bolster support for NATO allies. Mr. Austin also sent an infantry battalion task force of about 800 men to the Baltics. These troops and combat aircraft were already in the European theater of operations, the official said.