Psaki: U.S. will consider expanding troop presence in Europe during “escalation” around Ukraine

The United States will consider options to expand its military presence in Europe in the event of Russian aggression against Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki made this statement at a regular briefing for reporters on Monday.

“If you look at developments since 2014, many of these Eastern European NATO partner countries have sought assurances of Washington’s commitment to their security, to expand the presence of U.S. troops, to get additional deployments of U.S. troops on a rotational basis. And it would certainly be considered if Russia decides to invade Ukraine,” Psaki said.

There have been recent allegations in Western countries, as well as in Kiev, of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called such information an empty and groundless escalation of tension. He stressed that Russia posed no threat to anyone. At the same time, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations to justify such statements and warned that attempts to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine by force would have the most serious consequences. According to him, Moscow is making every possible effort to help Kiev resolve the conflict in Donbas while remaining committed to the Normandy format and the Minsk agreements.