Washington, United States | AFP | The United States ordered the withdrawal “as a precaution” of almost all the soldiers it kept deployed in Ukraine to “reposition them elsewhere in Europe,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced on Saturday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin decided to transfer 160 Florida National Guard troops “who were advising and training Ukrainian forces,” the statement said, as Washington spoke of the imminent possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. .
“This repositioning does not constitute a change in our resolve to support Ukrainian forces, but it will provide flexibility to reassure our allies and prevent any aggression,” Kirby added.
Since 2015, US National Guard reservists have been rotating to train the Ukrainian military alongside soldiers from other NATO countries, particularly Canadians and Germans.
Earlier this Saturday the US embassy in Kiev ordered the departure of its non-essential staff.
Several European countries have also recommended their citizens to leave Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday during a call to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that the diplomatic channel remained “open” to avoid a conflict, but that he demanded a “de-escalation” from Moscow.
Lavrov, for his part, accused the United States of wanting to “provoke” a conflict in Ukraine with his remarks of a possible imminent Russian invasion.
