U.S. discussing military deployment near Ukraine with NATO allies

The United States is discussing the deployment of American military forces to Eastern Europe with its NATO allies, a senior administration official said Monday, as President Joe Biden weighs options for responding to Russian threats against Ukraine.

With Moscow massing more than 100,000 troops at its neighbor’s border and no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, the West is stepping up its response amid mounting fears an invasion could be imminent.

Conversations are underway with NATO countries that could receive U.S. military forces as part of a plan to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression, the official said.

NATO said Monday that it was sending ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe and that Washington “has also made clear that it is considering increasing its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance.”

The White House said Biden plans to speak by video conference to European leaders in the afternoon about Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s border, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Polish President Andrzej Duda, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has asked the White House for a briefing for all House members on the situation, a source familiar with the matter said.

Biden was briefed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday about U.S. options for responding if Russia invades Ukraine, as well as options for U.S. military movements in advance of an invasion, according to a defense official and a senior administration official.

Among the options presented for the U.S. military in advance of an invasion were bomber flights over the region, ship visits into the Black Sea and the moving of troops and some equipment from other parts of Europe into Poland, Romania and other countries neighboring Ukraine. 

Austin presented options to reassure NATO allies and reinforce their defenses, specifically the defenses of those countries bordering Ukraine, the officials said. The goal is to show unity and strength within NATO and deter Russian aggression against allies in the region, the officials said. 

Biden was at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, and Austin briefed him via a secure video teleconference. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, was on the call. Generally the secretary briefs the president and then the chairman provides more operational specifics. 

Some details of the briefing were previously reported by The New York Times.

Russia has repeatedly denied planning to invade and has blamed the West for stoking tensions.

“All this is happening not because of what we, Russia, are doing. This is happening because of what NATO, the U.S. are doing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a conference call with reporters on Monday.

As Biden weighed his options, the State Department ordered family members of embassy employees in Kyiv to leave Sunday and authorized nonemergency diplomatic employees in Ukraine to depart. It also warned Americans not to travel to Ukraine or Russia, citing the possibility of Russian military…