(PatrioticPost.com)- The United States hasn’t sent troops directly to Ukraine to help it defend against the Russian attack, but the country is starting to send more troops to the region just in case.
In recent weeks, American military members have been deployed to various European NATO countries, while the country has also sent two U.S. Patriot missile batteries over to Poland.
Not long after Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to officially invade neighboring Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden started making moves to send American troops to the region just in case. Not long after the invasion began on February 24, Biden authorized 7,000 additional soldiers be sent to Europe.
As Biden said not long after Putin invaded Ukraine:
“There should be no confusion or cover up about what Putin is doing. Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequence.”
As many as 160 soldiers from the III Armored Corps were deployed from the military base in Fort Hood, Texas. Officials with the military branches said the troops were being deployed for a variety of missions, with the thought that the situation in Europe could escalate quickly at any time.
Colonel Matthew Ruedi, the deputy commanding officer of the 13th ESC, told local TV station WFAA recently:
“Our soldiers are trained and ready. Elements of our heavy transportation company have deployed to Europe to reassure NATO allies, deter Russian aggression and are prepared to support a range of other operations in the region.
“It’s not just our soldiers that we ensure are ready for this mission, but we do everything we can to make sure families are ready, too. Things can change rapidly in situations like this.”
While the U.S. refused a request from Poland to send fighter jets to them to be used in Ukraine, America has agreed to send missile defense systems to its ally Poland. The concern there, of course, is that the war in Ukraine could eventually spread to neighboring countries such as Poland that are members of NATO.
The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the U.S. is particularly concerned that some of Russia’s missile strikes could eventually land in Poland. The missile defense system would definitely help in that situation.
The U.S. is trying to prevent Putin’s war from spilling over into NATO countries, without directly being involved just yet. They are using sanctions against Putin, Russian companies and oligarchs to try to deter Russia from expanding the war.
If the war were to expand into a NATO country, the U.S. would be obligated to help.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the European Command, Captain Christina Judd, recently said:
“This defensive deployment is being conducted proactively to counter any potential threat to U.S. and Allied forces and NATO territory.
“This is a prudent force protection measure that underpins our commitment to Article 5 and will in no way support any offensive operations. Every step we take is intended to deter aggression and reassure our allies.”
