WASHINGTON — The U.S. military ordered the deployment of 500 additional troops to Europe, pushing the total number of American forces on the continent to about 100,000 as it seeks to deter Russia from broadening its unprovoked war in Ukraine, Pentagon officials said Monday.
The officials said the personnel moves come as Russia has committed nearly all of its preassembled combat forces into the battle over the former Soviet republic, an onslaught that has resulted in an increasing number of civilian fatalities. In a sign that Russian forces may need additional help in overcoming stiff Ukrainian resistance, U.S. officials said it appears the Kremlin is seeking to recruit foreign fighters from Syria to help in Ukraine.
"We do believe that the accounts of the Russians seeking Syrian fighters to augment their forces in Ukraine, we believe there's truth to that," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, adding that the Pentagon does not have any assessments on who these fighters would be, how many there would be, if there are any inside Ukraine now, what they are getting paid or any other details.
