President Joe Biden gave the US military permission to activate up to 3,000 reserve troops to bolster its response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Biden issued the order on Thursday, authorizing the deployment of additional reservists to back up the tens of thousands that were already sent to Europe last year.
Although Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has not formally announced plans to deploy these troops, it is highly unlikely Biden would have given the order if more troops had not been requested.
The order suggests the US military forces that are already in Europe for training missions and those deployed after Russia’s invasion are stretched thin and in need of backup.
Biden’s move comes immediately after the NATO summit in Lithuania this week, when allies pledged to amass 300,000 troops ready for rapid deployment.
That is a tough ask for the alliance, whose 31 individual members have allowed their military funding to dwindle after decades of relying on US support.
US Carries NATO’s Response in Ukraine
The US deployed 20,000 troops to Europe in the wake of Russia’s initial invasion into Ukraine, which brought the total number of American troops on the continent to over 100,000.
There are also 10,000 troops rotating through Poland at any given time, which has become a significant hub for supplying equipment to Ukraine.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the world should show “gratitude” to the US for carrying the weight in Ukraine.
“The United States of America has stepped up to provide an enormous amount of capacity to help ensure that Ukraine’s brave soldiers have the ammunition, the air defense, the infantry fighting vehicles, the mine-clearing equipment and so much else to be able to effectively defend against Russia’s onslaught and to take territory back,” Sullivan said.
“I think the American people do deserve a degree of gratitude — from us, from the United States, from our government — deserve gratitude for their willingness to step up, and from the rest of the world, as well.”
We have no business sending any troops what so ever to Ukraine, we’ve sent maga amounts of money, equipment, ammo, and that’s enough. It’s sad that America has now become one of the most corrupt, war mongering countries in the world.
We’ve done enough for Ukraine, period !
Theyre NOT needed only our Defense Tech is
It should be up to the EU to “convince” Putin of the error of his ways…
Our troops need to be home, defending OUR borders and coastlines! Let Europe worry about theirs!