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U.S. Embassy employees authorized to evacuate NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOPresident Joe Biden is considering sending several thousand troops to Eastern Europe and the Baltic States.
The State Department Monday authorized U.S. government employees at the American Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, to evacuate and ordered the staff’s families to do so amid tensions with Russia.
“Authorized departure gives these employees the option to depart if they wish; their departure is not required,” the embassy explained Monday on its website (ua.usembassy.gov). “Ordered departure for family members requires that family members leave the country. The U.S. Embassy’s departure status will be reviewed in no later than 30 days.”
The evacuation authorization for employees and orders for families come as President Joe Biden is considering sending several thousand troops to Eastern Europe and the Baltic States as part of a broader NATO effort to bolster NATO allies, bordering Russia and Ukraine.
RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT PHOTORussian President Vladimir Putin has deployed forces on three sides of Ukraine.On Monday, NATO said its member states have put military forces on standby, in addition to one warship and one fighter jet being deployed to Eastern European nations.
During a Sunday morning briefing at Camp David, advisers presented President Biden with options to respond to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.
“The president is considering sending 3,000 to 5,000 U.S. troops to Romania and to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia as part of a broader NATO effort,” Fox News reported. “Other NATO countries may also contribute troops to warn Russian President Vladimir Putin not to try to move into neighboring countries.”
President Biden is also considering sending naval support to the ports of NATO allies that may feel threatened.
Despite Mr. Putin’s denial of accusations of infiltrating the Ukrainian government, the Russian president now has forces deployed on three sides of Ukraine.
And while American officials are uncertain whether Mr. Putin has decided to launch an invasion, he has the means to do so at any moment.
Mr. Putin continues to deny any intent to invade despite his deployment of forces, which is similar to patterns seen in 2014 when Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine. Mr. Putin, meanwhile, blames the current rising tensions on the U.S. and allies refusing to reduce military presence and arming Ukraine.
“All this is happening not because of what we, Russia, are doing. This is happening because of what NATO, the U.S. are doing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a conference call with reporters on Monday,
Moscow continues to threaten military action if Mr. Putin’s demands are not met — particularly his demands that NATO block the acceptance of any new members from Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine.
Gen. H.R. McMaster, a former U.S. national security adviser, told CBS News that the attempt to blame the West is a standard part of Russia’s playbook.
“What they do is they twist reality,” he said. “They’re always denying what is quite obvious in terms of the form of aggression that they’re undertaking.
“It’s power,” Gen. McMaster said. “I think Putin understands this. Putin will take whatever he can get.”
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
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