President Biden on Thursday ordered an additional 7,000 Army troops to Europe to bolster NATO allies while vowing to implement “devastating” economic sanctions on Russia for its brazen invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Most of the soldiers will come from the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, an armored brigade combat based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Such units are usually made up of three battalions of M-1 Abrams tanks and M-2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles; a cavalry reconnaissance squadron; an artillery battalion; an engineer battalion and a logistics support battalion.
“They will deploy to Germany to reassure NATO allies, deter Russian aggression and be prepared to support a range of requirements in the region,” a senior Defense Department official said following Mr. Biden’s address to the nation.
“We expect them to depart in the coming days,” the Pentagon official said.
Russia has continued to send more troops into Ukraine following the initial invasion late Wednesday and has fired more than 160 missiles during the first days of their campaign.
“Most of them are short-range ballistic missiles but it’s a mix of medium-range [missiles] as well as cruise missiles,” the official said. “We don’t believe [Russian President Vladimir Putin] has committed anywhere near a large proportion of the forces that he has available to him.”
In recent weeks, U.S. officials said they would move 3,000 military troops to Romania, Poland and Germany in response to Russia’s continuing buildup of forces along its western border with Ukraine and in Belarus.
“This force is designed to deter aggression and enhance our defensive capabilities in frontline allied states,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at the time.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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