The Defense Department placed thousands of U.S.-based troops on a heightened alert level Monday, preparing them for a quick deployment to Eastern Europe amid a buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine’s border and stalled diplomatic talks to defuse the crisis.
The roughly 8,500 troops are meant to serve as the U.S. contribution to NATO’s Response Force, a multinational force of some 40,000 American and European military personnel, should NATO activate it in response to a further incursion into Ukraine by Russia.
But President Joe Biden hasn’t deployed troops, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed during a press conference.
