The United States on Wednesday announced plans to deploy thousands of additional troops to Europe in coming days to assure its allies in the region amid fears that Russia may further invade Ukraine, a move that triggered a backlash from Moscow.
The administration of President Joe Biden has also approached several major natural-gas importers in Asia, including China and Japan, about sending fuel to Europe to address any energy shortages that may occur in the region, which is dependent on Russian supplies, according to Bloomberg.
Tensions are simmering with Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has amassed around 100,000 troops on the border of Ukraine.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. government would not describe a potential Russian incursion into Ukraine as being "imminent," but added that it believes President Vladimir Putin could make a decision at "any time."
To reassure allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United States will send around 2,000 troops to Poland and Germany "in the next few days," while 1,000 soldiers currently based in Germany will be moved to Romania, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a press conference.
The forces are separate from the 8,500 troops which the Defense Department said last week have been placed on "heightened alert," mainly to become part of the NATO Response Force. Currently, the troops on high alert have not been activated for deployment to Europe, according to Kirby.
He emphasized that the just-announced additional military deployment is "not permanent" and that the troops are "not going to fight in Ukraine," which is not a member of NATO, although it aspires to join.
But the spokesman said the deployment is designed to "respond to the current security environment." He cited "clear evidence every day" that Putin "continues to destabilize the environment by adding more forces into the western part of his country and along Belarus."
Kirby did not rule out the risk of any conflict between Russia and Ukraine spilling over into neighboring countries, saying that armed conflict is "difficult to predict with any great specificity" and that the United States wants to clearly signal that it will not tolerate aggression against its NATO allies.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Washington's decision to send troops to Europe is a "destructive" step that fuels military tension, according to Interfax news agency.
The latest development came as talks between the United States and Russia to find a diplomatic path to resolve the situation failed to show significant progress.
Putin expressed his disappointment on Tuesday that the United States and NATO had "ignored" Russia's key security concerns, such as its demand to preclude NATO's expansion to Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.
On efforts to beef up energy security in Europe should a conflict over Ukraine erupt, Bloomberg said the Biden administration has reached out to officials in Japan, South Korea and India as well as China for cooperation. The engagement with China has been limited, the news agency added, citing people familiar with the matter.
The United States and its European allies have been warning Russia of the "severe consequences" it would face, including economic and financial sanctions, if it uses military force against Ukraine.
But concerns remain that Moscow may cut supplies to the region as a possible retaliatory measure, using its leverage as a supplier of about 40 percent of Europe's natural gas.
The United States has also been talking to major natural gas producers to see if they can surge output and allocate the additional volume to European buyers.
But unlike with oil, the global gas market has little spare capacity and no producer has said it can pump much more at short notice, according to Bloomberg.
Related coverage:
Japan's sanctions over Ukraine "counterproductive": Russian envoy
Putin says U.S. "ignored" key security concerns amid Ukraine standoff
Japan to move some embassy staff from Ukraine amid tensions
