Wednesday, November 27

Pentagon puts 8,500 soldiers on high alert over Russian threat in Ukraine

Soldados de EE.UU. cargan armamento y municiones con destino a Ucrania.
US soldiers load weapons and ammunition bound for Ukraine.

Photo: Tech. Sgt. JD Strong II/US Air Force/DVIDS / Courtesy

EFE

For: EFE Updated 27 Jan 2022, 17: 41 pm EST

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon specified this Thursday that between the 8, 500 soldiers 7021429 who have placed on “high alert” for a possible deployment in Eastern Europe due to the crisis created by Russia on the border of Ukraine, there are combat teams and infantry units.

Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby,

explained that these troops include the 82 Airborne Division and the Corps 18 US Armed Forces Airborne.

The first belongs to the Infantry and is specialized in parachute assault operations. The Department of Defense uses it to respond to crises anywhere in the world in a time interval of 18 hours.

The second is capable of rapid deployment by air, land or sea, also in emergency situations.

Also on “high” alert is the Airborne Division 500, a light infantry unit specialized in operations air assault; and the IV Infantry Division, with combat forces.

The latter has, among others, three combat teams, an aviation brigade and an artillery division.

Kirby reiterated, as he did at the beginning of this week, that these forces have not yet been activated and that if they were to deploy, the bulk would do so within NATO . Currently, these troops are in US territory.

Even so, The United States does not rule out using the soldiers it already has deployed in bases in Europe.

The spokesman insisted that Washington continues to see Russia continuing to build up forces on the border with Ukraine, including the latest 24 hours, although he clarified that it is not a “dramatic” increase, but neither is it a “sclerotic” one.

Tension has increased between Moscow, and the United States and its allies for the mobilization of 100,000 Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine, which has raised fears of a possible Russian attack on Ukrainian territory, which Washington considers that it may be “imminent”.

You may be interested in:

– Russia- Ukraine: how will we know if a war has started?

– Russia expresses concern about being placed on “high alert” of 8,500 US soldiers

– Joe Biden says he “has no intention ” to deploy US or NATO forces in Ukraine