“At the direction of US President Joe Biden, Secretary (Defense) Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of 3,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, into Polish territory,” a senior Pentagon official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He added that “these forces will leave Fort Bragg within the next two days, and are expected to be in place by early next week.”
This came shortly after Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, issued a warning to US citizens in Ukraine to leave the country as soon as possible. Sullivan said Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an invasion of Ukraine any day now.
In addition to the American forces deployed in Poland, about 1,000 American soldiers stationed in Germany are moving to Romania on a similar mission to reassure a North Atlantic ally.
The first group of 1,700 soldiers, ordered by Austin, arrived in Poland on February 2, led by Major General Christopher Donahue.
The US official explained The decision to deploy these forces came “to reassure our NATO allies, deter potential aggression against Europe’s eastern flank, train with host country forces and contribute to a wide range of emergencies.”
“These additional deployments are temporary in nature, and are intended to support the more than 80,000 US forces already in Europe,” he said.
This development comes hours after Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, issued a warning to US citizens in Ukraine to leave the country as soon as possible.
Sullivan said Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an invasion of Ukraine any day now.
