From the Russian invasion of Ukraine continuing, more than 4,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Europe will be extended.
The extension, announced Sunday, is part of the United States’ efforts to inspire confidence in its Eastern European allies during the crisis.
“I don’t want to speculate on the timeline, but I’m sure it will only be as long as they are needed,” said John Thomasi, a spokesman for the army in Europe. CNN when asked about the time frame for this long-term deployment.
The troops – members of the combat team of the 1st Armored Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division – were due to return abroad in nine months in March.
The teams will now continue their training and deterrence missions with troops from Poland, Romania and the Baltic states.
Paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division provide humanitarian assistance in support of the United States Agency for International Development
Firefighters are inspecting the damage to a building after a rocket attack on the city of Kiev
Map of United States military bases in Europe
The military also said the deployment of “additional support units” would also be extended.
The armed forces regularly change combat brigades on and off the continent to maintain a permanent military presence in the region.
“The deployment of a ready and reliable US force in Europe in support of the US military in Europe and Africa is a testament to the strong and unwavering US commitment to NATO and Europe,” Thomasi added.
Russian forces are said to have taken over a small Ukrainian town in the south on Sunday night.
Berdyansk, is a port city with a naval base on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, in the southeastern part of Ukraine is home to 100,000 people.
Charred military vehicles and wreckage are seen in Bucha, Ukraine
US President Joe Biden met with the National Security Council on the Ukrainian-Russian crisis
Defense Minister Lloyd Austin meets with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the Pentagon on Tuesday
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) congratulates Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left)
It is located near the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and from which it launched one of several invading forces.
Elsewhere in the country, Russian troops are said to be approaching the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, a city of nearly 3 million people. The mayor expressed doubt that civilians could be evacuated.
Ukrainian defenders are resisting, which seems to be slowing Russia’s progress.
Kiev was ominously quiet on Sunday morning after explosions lit up the morning sky and authorities reported explosions at an airport. The main boulevard was virtually deserted, as strict curfew prevented people from taking to the streets. Authorities have warned that anyone who dares to leave without a pass will be considered a Russian saboteur.
Terrified residents rushed to homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale Russian attack. Food and medicine are running out, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Authorities are distributing weapons to anyone who wants to protect the city. Ukraine is also releasing military-experienced prisoners who want to fight and training people to make incendiary bombs.
The southern Ukrainian city has a small naval base on the Sea of Azov
A woman responded while paramedics resuscitated a girl injured in a shelling at a city hospital in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, on Sunday. The girl did not survive
“Right now, the most important issue is to defend our country,” Klitschko said.
In the southern port city of Mariupol, where Ukrainians were trying to repel the attack, a medical team at a city hospital desperately tried to revive a 6-year-old girl in unicorn pajamas who was fatally wounded in Russian shelling.
Nearly 560 miles away, Faina Bistritska was under threat in the town of Chernihiv.
“I wish I had never lived to see this,” said Bistritska, an 87-year-old Jew who survived World War II. She said sirens are lit almost constantly in the city, about 90 miles from Kiev.
Chernigov residents have been told not to turn on any lighting, “so as not to attract their attention,” said Bistritska, who lives in a corridor away from windows so she can better protect herself.