President Joe Biden has officially approved deploying additional U.S. military troops to Eastern Europe, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials.
"The Pentagon is expected to announce that thousands of additional US troops will deploy to forward locations in Europe. The deployments will include roughly 2,000 US troops to Poland and an additional few thousand to southeastern NATO countries, including Romania," CNN reported. "The US has put 8,500 troops in the US on heightened alert in case a NATO Response Force is called up and US forces are needed quickly."
The forces could deploy within "the coming days," the officials told CNN.
Tensions in the region have increased as Russia has deployed troops along its border with Ukraine and in Belarus, along Ukraine's northern border. The U.S. government has warned Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine at any time.
The Biden administration has called a 10 a.m. press conference.
Scoop: President Biden has formally approved additional US military deployments to eastern Europe amid rising Russia threat, and the Pentagon is expected to announce this morning that the troops will deploy "in the coming days." me & @barbarastarrcnnhttps://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/politics/us-troops-europe-russia/index.html\u00a0\u2026— Natasha Bertrand (@Natasha Bertrand) 1643809916
