President Biden has approved a Pentagon plan to assist in the evacuation of U.S. citizens in Ukraine amid the increased threat of a Russian invasion.
President Biden has approved a Pentagon plan to assist in the evacuation of U.S. citizens in Ukraine amid the increased threat of a Russian invasion.
Background: Russia President Vladimir Putin has demanded that the U.S. and NATO abandon plans to admit Ukraine as an eventual member and that the alliance pull forces back from Eastern Europe.
Over the past weeks, Russia has been bolstering its troops along the Ukraine border and threatening to invade.
What Happened: Some of the 1,700 troops from the 82nd Airborne Corps being deployed to Poland to bolster that ally will in coming days begin to set up checkpoints, tent camps and other temporary facilities inside Poland’s border with Ukraine
The mission would be to provide logistics support to help coordinate the evacuation of Americans from Poland after they arrive there from Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, likely by land and without U.S. military support, the officials said. (per The Wall Street Journal)
Details: According to reports, roughly 30,000 Americans remain in Ukraine.
Russia has roughly 100,000 troops poised near Ukraine, plus additional forces conducting exercises in Belarus and deployed to the Black Sea. (According to The Wall Street Journal)
Context: The White House is desperate to avoid another chaotic withdrawal after the devastating Afghanistan withdrawal in August.
What The White House Says: White House press secretary Jen Psaki rejected the comparison between the current situation in Ukraine versus Afghanistan.
Psaki said, “I think it is really important to separate the two [nations.] We are not in a 20-year war with U.S. troops in Ukraine. That’s a very different circumstance,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. “We continue to view our relationship, both from the White House, from the diplomatic team and from the Defense Department as one where we are closely coordinating.”