Biden is expected to make a decision this week, according to the sources. Various plans are ready, whereby one thousand to five thousand soldiers will be sent. There are also warships and planes heading for Europe. If tensions continue to mount, there is the possibility that the troops could be increased tenfold.
No US troops will be sent to Ukraine itself. But if American soldiers are indeed sent to Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, that is a turn of the White House. Biden was previously reluctant to deploy US troops because it could be perceived as a provocation by Russian President Putin.
With pain and effort
Biden has also painstakingly withdrawn all US troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting, and wants to avoid another potentially long-running conflict. Until now, only American weapons material went to Ukraine.
“Even during diplomatic consultations, we are very focused on building defense and working on deterrence,” said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Face the Nation, the Outer Court of American TV. “Nato will greatly strengthen itself if Russia continues its aggression. That’s all on the table.”
The US State Department, meanwhile, is ordering families of embassy staff to leave Ukraine. American citizens have also been asked to leave the country. A negative travel advice for Ukraine has been put in place.
Sources at the US State Department warn that Americans cannot be evacuated if a Russian invasion were to take place.