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Civic Register
| 2.12.22

U.S. & Allies Sending More Troops to Eastern Europe, Arms to Ukraine Amid Russian Invasion Threat

Do you support the deployments to NATO countries and arms shipments to Ukraine?

What’s the story?

  • The U.S. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies are sending more troops and equipment to the alliance’s eastern flank and additional armaments to Ukraine to bolster its defensive abilities in the face of Russia’s looming invasion threat.

U.S. & NATO Movements

  • Senior U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Friday that 3,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are being deployed to Poland to bolster the country’s defensive capacity, as it shares a border with Belarus which is currently hosting a significant number of Russian military personnel.
  • This deployment in addition to the 3,000 American troops who were recently deployed to Eastern Europe, including 1,700 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne to Poland, 300 paratroopers from the 18th Airborne Corps to Germany, and 1,000 troops from an Army Stryker squadron who moved from Germany to Romania. It’s also distinct from the 8,500 American troops who’ve been placed on heightened readiness as part of the NATO Response Force, which hasn’t yet been activated.
  • Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby announced Saturday that the contingent of about 160 U.S. Army troops from the Florida National Guard who have been deployed in Ukraine since November as part of a rotational mission to train the Ukrainian military are being temporarily withdrawn and repositioned elsewhere in Eastern Europe amid the Russian invasion threat. Other NATO militaries are withdrawing their training deployments from Ukraine as well, with British and Canadian troops being repositioned. Elsewhere, Germany is deploying some troops and artillery to Lithuania.
  • The U.S. is also deploying Air Force assets, with eight F-16 Falcons moving from Germany to Romania and eight F-15 Eagles deployed from Great Britain to Poland as part of NATO’s air policing mission and to serve as an additional deterrent. The U.S. previously sent six F-15 fighters to Estonia, joining Belgian, Danish, Norwegian, and Polish fighters in the Baltic states. Additionally, the U.S. is in the midst long-planned bomber task force exercise, with several B-52 Stratofortresses deploying to Great Britain.
  • In the Mediterranean Sea, the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group has been exercising with ships from NATO allies, including the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour. The Truman and the Norwegian frigate Fridtjof Nansen made a scheduled port call at Split, Croatia, on Friday and are scheduled to remain there until Tuesday. The U.S. Navy also deployed four more Arleigh Burke-class destroyers from the east coast to the Mediterranean.

Arms to Ukraine

  • The U.S. Embassy Kyiv, which is in the process of reducing its staff footprint to only essential personnel amid the Russian invasion threat, announced on Friday that the 15th shipment of defensive assistance from the U.S. arrived in Ukraine. The latest shipment included about 90 tons of ammunition and shoulder-fired Javelin anti-tank missiles, and further deliveries are expected in the days ahead.
  • In recent weeks the U.S. and Great Britain have been joined by the three Baltic states ― Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania ― plus the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, and Turkey in sending arms to Ukraine. Deliveries have included Javelins, NLAW anti-tank missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition, artillery shells, and drones. 
  • Germany has blocked efforts by NATO member states to export lethal arms to Ukraine that were originally made in Germany (including those made decades ago in the former communist satellite East Germany). Germany has, however, sent 5,000 helmets and other non-lethal aid to Ukraine.


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— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: U.S. Paratroopers: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brian Micheliche via DVIDSHUB / Public Domain | Arms Shipments: U.S. Embassy Kyiv via Flickr / Public Domain)