US and NATO put troops on readiness for deployment to Eastern Europe

The United States reported on Monday (24) that about 8,500 American troops were placed on a redoubled alert level for a possible deployment to Eastern Europe, amid the crisis in the concentration of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine.

“The United States has taken steps to increase the readiness of its forces at home and abroad, so it is prepared to respond to a number of contingencies, including supporting the NATO (Western military alliance) response force if it is activated. ” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Hours earlier, NATO had reported that it was putting forces on standby and sending more ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe.

“The risk of conflict remains real and we continue to call on Russia to de-escalate the military and choose the path of diplomacy. NATO is a defensive alliance, which does not threaten Russia or any other country, but we will always do whatever is necessary to protect and defend all our allies, and I am pleased that they are mobilizing,” said the NATO Secretary General. , Jens Stoltenberg.

This week, Russia says it expects a written American response to a series of demands that it withdraw more than 100,000 troops it has deployed near the Ukrainian border.

Moscow claims that it does not intend to invade the neighboring country and is only aimed at self-defense, and wants guarantees so that NATO does not increase its presence in Eastern Europe, as a permanent veto against a possible entry of Ukraine into the alliance and that countries of the former communist bloc do not receive organization’s weapons and troops. The United States has already verbally stated that it considers these demands unacceptable.

The UK and the Americans have started to withdraw staff from their embassies in Kiev and their families. On Monday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki recommended that Americans in Ukraine leave the country immediately, as plans for the evacuation of those citizens are not being drawn up.

“There is no intention that there will be a departure or an evacuation in that sense,” said Psaki, when asked by a reporter about the matter. “So we are communicating to American citizens that they must leave (Ukraine) now.”