Meanwhile, President Joe Biden held a call on Monday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. NATO’s secretary general and the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council also participated in the call.
The leaders discussed “preparations to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia” for any further aggression against Ukraine, and they “committed to continued close consultation with transatlantic Allies and partners,” according to a White House readout.
Kirby, the Pentagon spokesperson, told CNN on Tuesday that it was possible the United States would put “additional forces on heightened alert in the coming days and weeks,” beyond the roughly 8,500 troops notified thus far.
In addition, Kirby said the United States may reposition troops already stationed in Europe “to bolster and to reassure some of our allies on the ground on the continent.”
Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer also did not rule out potentially deploying troops to Eastern Europe in advance of a possible Russian invasion, telling CNN: “I don’t think we’re taking any options off the table.”
However, U.S. forces “will not be deployed anywhere but on allied territory,” Finer said. “The president has been clear about that, and the alliance has been clear about that. But the timeline and the decision-making will be left up to the alliance, in full consultation with all of our allies.”
Tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border — where Moscow has amassed roughly 100,000 troops — have continued to escalate in recent days, prompting Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva last Friday.
Blinken left that session pledging to present Russia with a written record of its concerns about Moscow’s behavior and proposals aimed at resolving the security crisis sometime this week.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a news briefing on Monday that the United States does “expect to be in a position to send a written response this week” to Russia, but U.S. officials are first “sharing those ideas” with European allies and “taking their feedback.”
Samuel Benson contributed to this report.
