About 200 marines from a command and control unit of the 28 Marine Air Control Group based in Cherry Point, North Carolina, were sent to Lithuania after a cold weather exercise in Norway, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. Some C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and 10 Marine F-18 Hornet fighter jets from Beaufort, South Carolina will be relocated to Eastern Europe. The latest development comes as Russia appears to be retreating and repositioning its invading forces after weeks of fierce resistance from Ukraine, and the Pentagon has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “failed” in his attempt to seize the capital, Kyiv. Read more: Top commander believes US will ‘need even more’ troops in post-war Ukraine The Pentagon has 14,000 troops already deployed in Europe, stationed with allies such as Poland, Germany and the Baltic states, or on alert for possible deployment. On Monday, it announced that six Navy EA-18G Growler aircraft based at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington state had been sent to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. “This is not a numerical goal, it is really about capabilities and it is based on ongoing talks with our NATO allies on the east side,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news conference on Tuesday. The Marine and Navy deployments were made unilaterally by the United States and were not part of the NATO Response Force, which is an elite multinational force of 40,000 troops that includes the United States and was recently activated by the alliance. Marines are arriving to strengthen the NATO alliance and like all US troops in the region now will not fight the Russians in Ukraine. President Joe Biden has made it clear that the United States will not intervene militarily unless a NATO member is attacked, but his government has sent more than $ 1 billion in weapons and military support to Ukrainian forces amid a Russian offensive and imposed heavy sanctions. . The story goes on The Russians said on Tuesday they were withdrawing troops from Kyiv amid peace talks with Ukraine aimed at ending an unprovoked invasion that began on February 24. But the Pentagon was skeptical of the claim. “We believe that this is a repositioning, not a real withdrawal, and that we should all be ready to watch a major offensive against other parts of Ukraine. It does not mean that the threat to Kyiv is over,” Kirby said. “Russia has failed in its goal of occupying Kyiv, it has failed in its goal of subjugating Ukraine, but they can still bring enormous barbarism to the country, including Kiev.” – You can contact Travis Tritten at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Tritten.
