WASHINGTON (Reuters) -About 150 U.S. troops from the Florida National Guard who’ve been in Ukraine to assist prepare Ukrainian forces are leaving the nation as the specter of a Russian invasion will increase, the Pentagon mentioned on Saturday.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby mentioned the choice, first reported by Reuters, was made out of an abundance of warning and was knowledgeable by the State Department’s choice to withdraw some workers from the U.S. embassy in Kyiv.
“This repositioning doesn’t signify a change in our willpower to assist Ukraine’s Armed Forces, however will present flexibility in assuring allies and deterring aggression,” Kirby mentioned in a written assertion.
The trainers can be repositioned inside Europe, he mentioned, however it was not clear precisely the place.
It was additionally not instantly clear what’s going to occur with the small variety of U.S. particular operations forces within the nation, in response to a U.S. official talking on situation of anonymity.
Reuters reported on Friday that the Pentagon will ship 3,000 extra troops to Poland as Russia held military workouts in Belarus and the Black Sea following the buildup of its forces close to Ukraine.
Australia, New Zealand, Germany and the Netherlands on Saturday joined international locations urging their residents to go away Ukraine. Washington mentioned on Friday {that a} Russian invasion, seemingly starting with an air assault, may happen at any time.
Moscow has repeatedly disputed Washington’s model of occasions, saying it has massed greater than 100,000 troops close to the Ukrainian border to take care of its personal safety in opposition to aggression by NATO allies.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
