On Wednesday, the United States (US) President Joe Biden gave the green light to the Pentagon’s plan involving US Military personnel, who are stationed in Poland, to help evacuate thousands of American citizens from Ukraine in case of a full-scale Russian invasion. In recent weeks, Washington has stressed the need to be prepared for all contingencies, adding that Moscow could take over Kyiv “any day.” The plan comes after the Biden administration faced severe criticism both domestically and internationally over the poor execution of their evacuation plan in Afghanistan last August.
According to the Wall Street Journal, who first reported the story, the 2,000 US Military troops that began to arrive in Poland this week will set up various temporary facilities such as tents at the Polish border with Ukraine to better help American citizens flee the former Soviet state. Officials made it clear that the troops do not have authorization to traverse beyond the Polish border, adding that Washington will also not use any aircraft to take out approximately 30,000 Americans that are currently in Ukraine, out of which 6,600 are residents. US military officials stressed that troops will help coordinate the evacuation of Americans from Ukraine saying, “We don’t want a chaotic withdrawal from Ukraine,” referring to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dismissed comparisons to the Afghanistan withdrawal, noting that the war in Afghanistan was coming to an end after 20 years and that the US is trying to currently prevent a war in Ukraine. However, Psaki made it clear that Washington is not planning a “mass evacuation” of US citizens from Ukraine but urged them to leave immediately, saying, “President Biden has been clear that we believe Americans in Ukraine would be wise to leave Ukraine,” a message also conveyed by the US State Department.
In the last few weeks, America has increasingly raised concerns over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. Last week, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned that Russia is planning a “false flag” attack to create a pretence for Ukraine’s invasion.
Days before Sullivan’s remarks, US officials told Reuters that Russia had amassed 70% of its military strength at the Ukrainian border in preparation for an attack. However, they did not provide any evidence to back their claims.
Earlier this month, Biden approved the deployment of 3,000 US military troops in Poland and Romania to bolster the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) defence amid increasing Russian military aggression. The Kremlin labelled the move as “destructive” and “unjustified,” saying it adds to the simmering tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Military tensions between the US and Russia are at the highest level since the end of the Cold War, particularly after top Russian generals on Wednesday visited Poland’s neighbour, Belarus, to overlook the 30,000 Russian troops that are participating in a joint training exercise with Belarusian forces. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the military exercises address the “unprecedented security threats” faced by the two former Soviet nations.