This was reported by the press service of the White House.

Asked by reporters if he plans to send US troops to Eastern Europe, Joe Biden said he would do so "soon."

At the same time, the US President clarified that it is a question of a small number of servicemen.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said earlier in the day, Jan. 28, that an order to send troops had not yet been received.

According to him, the military is in a state of "preparation for deployment" and will be ready to act if NATO gives the order.

He spoke of the 8,500 U.S. soldiers who had been put on high alert since Jan. 24.

Joe Biden then stressed that this is a precautionary measure and that the US military will not be sent to Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of American troops are usually stationed in Europe, including about 35,000 in Germany, dpa reports.

The threat of Russia's attack on Ukraine

  • According to US intelligence on January 7, 2022, more than 100,000 Russian troops are on Russia's border with Ukraine.

    Additional fighter jets were also spotted there.

  • Russian authorities deny the possibility of invasion and say that the movement of troops inside the country is a "sovereign right" of Russia.

    Moscow calls reports of the invasion "an unjustified escalation of tensions."

  • Russian authorities have begun talks with the United States and NATO on security guarantees in Europe.

    According to Russian demands, the United States should not establish military bases in the territory of the former Soviet Union, which are not members of NATO, and the alliance should stop expanding to the east.

    In particular, Russia has demanded not to admit Ukraine to NATO.

    Representatives of the alliance have already called these demands unacceptable.

  • On January 18, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said that Belarusian-Russian maneuvers near the Ukrainian border would begin on February 10.

    Part of the forces and means of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, as well as military authorities, a number of military units and units of the Eastern Military District of the Armed Forces of Russia will be involved in them.

  • It also became known that Russia on January 5 evacuated at least 18 members of the families of Russian diplomats from Ukraine.

    About 30 more people left the Russian Embassy in Kyiv and the consulate in Lviv in the coming days.

  • Since 2014, the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea has been occupied by Russia, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including their main cities captured by militants of the self-proclaimed "DPR" and "LPR", supported by Moscow with the help of Russian regular troops.

  • Despite repeated declarations of silence, shelling continues on the line of demarcation, often injuring and killing Ukrainian servicemen.

  • The United States, Canada, Britain and other countries have sent weapons to Ukraine.

    Germany, which had previously defended the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project, refused to supply weapons and blocked supplies from Estonia, saying it was a German-made weapon.

    Berlin agreed to send only a field hospital to Ukraine.

  • On January 25, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a statement to the international community urging it to prevent blackmail and threats of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in exchange for guarantees of NATO non-proliferation and prevention of Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.