Joe Biden could put even more U.S. forces on heightened alert after the Pentagon announced Monday that 8,500 troops were put on standby for possible deployment to Eastern Europe as Russia comes closer to invading Ukraine.
'We're certainly not going to rule out other options,' Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told CNN Tuesday. 'Our job is to provide options to the president – to the commander in chief – and we're going to continue to do that.'
'And so, I certainly would not rule out the possibility that we could be putting additional forces on heightened alert in the coming days and weeks,' he continued. 'And maybe even moving troops around Europe that are already there to bolster and to reassure some of our allies on the ground on the continent.'
Kirby reiterated: 'I would not rule out the possibility that we could be talking about larger numbers in future days and weeks.'
During a Defense Department briefing on Monday, Kirby announced that 8,500 U.S. troops have been put on standby for deployment as the world watches to see if Russia will invade Ukraine.
Kirby said no final decision has been made on deployments but detailed those in the group on heightened alert include intelligence and transportation units.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies are also moving more military equipment into the region including air and naval assets.
A report from the New York Times over the weekend revealed that President Joe Biden is considering deploying up to 50,000 troops to Eastern Europe and Baltic nations. This proposed plan, however, does not include sending U.S. forces directly into Ukraine.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told CNN on Tuesday that Biden is not ruling out putting more U.S. forces on heightened alert as the world watches to see if Russia will invade Ukraine amid a build up of more than 100,000 Kremlin troops at the border
Russia has already built up a force of more than 100,000 troops at the eastern border of Ukraine and has thousands stationed elsewhere as tensions escalate and concerns rise over a potential Russia invasion of Ukraine
The State Department ordered on Sunday embassy personnel and their families in the Ukrainian capital Kiev to leave the country 'due to the continued threat' of a Russian invasion. They also warned American citizens in the country to leave on their own, claiming the U.S. government will not be able to evacuate citizens should Russia invade.
'Given that the President has said military action by Russia could come at any time, the US government will not be in a position to evacuate US citizens,' State Department officials said during a press call over the weekend.
'So U.S. citizens currently present in Ukraine should plan accordingly,' they added, suggesting people arrange commercial flights.
Considering the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, lawmakers are demanding the administration detail a plan to get U.S. citizens out of Ukraine as the potential for Russian invasion grows.
'The Biden administration needs to put forward a plan to evacuate every American from Ukraine who wants to leave,' North Carolina Representative Ted Budd tweeted on Tuesday. 'The policy of 'you're on your own' is not an acceptable policy for the United States of America.'
He added: 'Given the fact that the Biden administration stranded an unknown number of Americans in Afghanistan last year, we are rightfully concerned for the fate of American citizens again in harm's way in Ukraine.'
Budd sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding answers to how the administration plans to deal with evacuating U.S. citizens safely as many detail troubles finding flights out of Ukraine.
He noted that Under Secretary of State for U.S. Political Affairs Victoria Nuland has estimated an enormous range of between 10 and 15,000 Americans currently in Ukraine.
The Republican representative wants to know a number of how many Americans need evacuation and a detailed plan for evacuations in light Russia invades Ukraine.
He demanded that Blinken answer: 'What steps is the Biden administration willing to take to keep U.S. citizens in Ukraine safe if Russia does invade?'
Workers unload a shipment of U.S. military aid and security assistance delivered to the Boryspil airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, January 25
The new batch of U.S. security assistance delivered Tuesday to Ukraine includes equipment and ammunitions. The assistance comes in tandem with actions by other NATO member governments to bolster a defensive presence in Eastern Europe
BIDEN PREPARES PLAN FOR SENDING ENERGY TO EUROPE SHOULD RUSSIA CUT OFF NATURAL GAS AND OIL EXPORTS
The Biden administration is preparing contingency plans in case Russia cuts off its natural gas or crude oil exports to Europe in the event of an invasion of Ukraine.
The move is part of President Joe Biden's reassurance to European allies he will not let Russian President Vladimir Putin freeze them out this winter.
European allies are worried that Putin would cut off their supply chain in retaliation for any economic sanctions the United States has vowed to impose in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
'If Russia decides to weaponize its supply of natural gas or crude oil, it wouldn't be without consequences to the Russian economy,' a senior administration official said Tuesday on a briefing call with reporters.
The United States is working with energy producers in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa to ensure Europe has enough supplies in case Russia cuts off availability.
The European Union depends on Russia for around a third of its gas supplies. And Germany, for example, is the biggest buyer of Russian gas in the world. It draws more than half of its gas imports from Russia against around 40 per cent on average for the European Union, according to the EU's statistics agency Eurostat.
A new batch of U.S. military aid and security assistance was delivered to the Boryspil airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday.
The latest shipment includes equipment and ammunition and comes in tandem with actions by other NATO member governments to bolster a defensive presence in Eastern Europe.
American officials are also vowing harsher sanctions from the start should Russia invade its neighbor, taking a much tougher approach than the response to Russian aggression in 2014.
'The gradualism of the past is out. And this time, we'll start at the top of the escalation ladder and stay there,' a senior administration official said on the briefing call.
A war between Russia and Ukraine is expected to disrupt global energy markets, since Russia is the second oil producer in the world, behind only the United States.
European allies are worried that Vladimir Putin would cut off their supply chain in retaliation for any economic sanctions the United States has vowed to impose in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with university students to mark Russian Students Day on Tuesday
The European Union depends on Russia for around a third of its gas supplies - above the starting point for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline
A serviceman stands holding his machine-gun in a trench on the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants at frontline with Ukrainian government forces in Slavyanoserbsk, Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine on Tuesday
Russia also exports a large amount of natural gas to Europe through its pipeline system that runs through Ukraine - exports that would likely be severely disrupted by a war and damage the infrastructure.
American officials have spent the last six to eight weeks putting together a global strategy exploring contingency options to redirect and increase gas supplies from different parts of the world.
Senior administration officials on the briefing call declined to provide specifics on what countries and companies they are in talks with, saying they don't want to 'telegragh and inform' Putin of their moves and noted the talks are 'very sensitive discussions.'
But the official said they were looking at companies that could increase the energy production they are already doing.
'We're looking at is to make sure that there are some suppliers that are able to bring on volumes into Europe through pipelines and by increasing their production,' the senior administration official.
The official said the talks were happening on a global level with multiple countries and companies.
'You don't need to ask anyone to any one individual company or country to surge exports by significant volumes, but rather smaller volumes from from a multitude of sources,' the official said. 'By combining this broader picture, we're able to bring enough gas to supply the amount that we need.'
The officials also pointed out Europe has reserve supplies it can tap into this winter if needed.
And the American officials warned that Putin would be hurting himself the most with a cutoff to his European customers, pointing out that Russia's economy depends on its energy exports.
'Remember, oil and gas export revenues are two thirds of the total in Russia and about half of Russia's federal budget revenues. So this is not an asymmetric advantage for Putin,' the senior administration official said.
'He is creating a major incentive for Europe to accelerate the diversification of their energy supplies away from Russia,' the official noted.
The United States is also threatening to impose a novel export control to deprive Russia of key tech components that would damage AI and aerospace industries if Russia were to invade Ukraine.
That control is aimed at blocking the export of cutting-edge 'novel' American-made products to Russia, in a bid to deprive Putin's regime of technology that could be used in any future conflict with Ukraine.
'You can think of these export controls as trade restrictions in the service of broader U.S. national security interests. We use them to prohibit the export of products from the U.S. to Russia, and potentially certain foreign made products that fall under U.S. export regulations,' a senior administration official said on Tuesday's briefing call with reporters.
Officials said the Biden administration may also opt to apply the control to restrict Russia's access to semiconductors, and therefore making it harder for Russians to get their hands on smartphones, games consoles and tablets.
The U.S. and the EU already have sanctions on Russia's energy, financial and defense sectors, with tensions between Moscow and Western powers raising the prospect of new economic sanctions being imposed if Russia attacks neighboring Ukraine.
The White House is also floating the idea of curbs on Russia's biggest banks and has previously mooted measures targeting Moscow's ability to convert rubles into dollars and other currencies.
Such export controls that expand U.S. sanctions beyond financial targets have only been deployed once before against Huawei, the Chinese tech giant.
The measures, implemented over fears its products were being used to spy on behalf of China's communist government, went towards Huawei experiencing a 30 percent drop in annual revenue - its first ever.
Senior administration officials pointed out there is only so much economic pain Russia can take.
Putin's 'tolerance for economic pain, it may be higher than other leaders, but there is a threshold of pain
