Russian President Vladimir Putin added reinforcements to the troops deployed along the border despite diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing a Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the Pentagon.
Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that Putin had “added military capabilities” to the more than 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border over the weekend “so he continues to add to his readiness. He continues to give himself more options.”
“It’s infantry. It’s armor. It’s artillery. It’s air missile defense as well as offensive air. He’s got a lot of combat aircraft now at his ability. He’s got significant naval power inside the Black Sea,” Kirby said when asked for details about the Russians’ capability at the border.
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The Russians could launch an invasion as soon as on Wednesday, according to numerous outlets, though Kirby declined to answer a question about those reports when pressed by journalists.
President Joe Biden has deployed roughly 6,000 troops to Europe, half of which were given their orders last week. Those troops could help evacuate Americans once they cross into Poland, but they will not go into Ukraine to either fight Russian forces should an invasion happen. They will also not go searching for Americans inside Ukraine. Various administration officials have urged Americans in Ukraine to leave before an incursion because it’s unknown if commercial travel will remain a viable option at that point.
In addition to those troops that have been deployed to Poland, Germany, and Romania, roughly 8,500 troops are on “heightened alert” for a deployment should NATO call up their forces.
“He is doing all the things you would expect him to do to make sure he’s ready,” Kirby added, noting that the Russian leader “is exercising some of his units on the ground there in the south, as well as naval units in the Black Sea.”
Putin also has “special operations capability, he’s got cyber capability, he’s got [intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance] capability,” he said. “So, I don’t know that I would go so glibly as to say, ‘Well, it’s just more of the same,’ but in terms of the menu of options, he continues to add to that across the whole spectrum of military capabilities.”
The State Department issued an evacuation order for the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv on Friday, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a Monday statement, “We are in the process of temporarily relocating our Embassy operations in Ukraine from our Embassy in Kyiv to Lviv due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces.”
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Despite Putin’s bolstered military, officials are still hoping diplomacy can lead to a peaceful resolution. Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley have all spoken with their Russian counterparts since Friday as well.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who spoke with Blinken over the weekend, told Putin in remarks carried on state television that there’s “always a chance” of diplomacy to prevent further conflict, according to CNN.
