The Pentagon placed 8,500 combat personnel on increased alert Monday in preparation for a possible deployment to Europe as part of a NATO "reinforcement," in the face of growing concerns that Russia will soon launch military action against Ukraine.
According to reports, U.S. President Joe Biden met with key European leaders, reiterating the U.S.'s solidarity with regional allies.
NATO announced on Monday that it was reserving forces and bolstering eastern Europe with additional warships and fighter jets, in response to what Russia called Western "hysteria" over its massive force buildup on the Ukraine border.
This move demonstrates that the West is bracing for Russia to invade its neighbor following the massing of an estimated 100,000 troops within striking distance of its neighbor's border.
NATO currently has approximately 4,000 troops deployed in multinational battalions in Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland, supported by tanks, air defenses, and intelligence and surveillance units.
"We will always respond to deteriorations in our security environment, including by bolstering our collective defense," Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.
At the White House, President Joe Biden convened a secure video call in the Situation Room with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The call was also attended by NATO's secretary general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.
Putting U.S.-based troops on heightened alert for Europe indicated dwindling hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin will back down from what Biden has described as an invasion threat against Ukraine.
Beyond Ukraine's future, at stake is the credibility of a NATO alliance that is critical to the United States' defense strategy but is viewed by Putin as a Cold War relic and a threat to Russian security. For Biden, the crisis is a litmus test of his ability to form a united front against Putin.
Russia denies planning an invasion, citing the Western response as evidence that Russia is the intended victim of aggression, not the initiator.
Meanwhile, NATO reported that Spain, Denmark, France, and the Netherlands were all considering or planning to send troops, warplanes, or warships to Eastern Europe. Ukraine is surrounded by four NATO member states: Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Romania.
As this developed, the UK announced that it was pulling out some personnel from its embassy in Ukraine, a day after the U.S. ordered diplomats' family members to leave the country.
