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President Biden is considering sending a few thousand troops to Eastern Europe and the Baltic States as part of a broader NATO effort to bolster NATO allies that border Russia and Ukraine, given recent tensions, Fox News confirms.
Advisors presented Biden with various options to respond to Russia’s aggressive stance in Eastern Europe in a Sunday briefing at Camp David. The president is considering sending 3,000-5,000 U.S. troops to Romania and to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia as part of a broader NATO effort. Other NATO countries may also contribute troops to warn Russian President Vladimir Putin not to try to move into neighboring countries.
The president is also considering deploying naval vessels to make port visits to NATO allies who may feel threatened. Some equipment and troops in these proposed actions would come from Europe and some would come from the U.S.
FILE – President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, arrive to meet at the ‘Villa la Grange’, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2021. (Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File Pool)
The U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office disclosed on Saturday that it had information suggesting that Russia will plan to install a Russian puppet in Ukraine.
“We have information that indicates the Russian Government is looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine,” a spokesperson for the British agency said.
Former Ukrainian Member of Parliament Yevhen Murayev was being considered a potential candidate, the spokesperson added.
Members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, train in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Murayev heads Nashi, a small pro-Russian political party that currently has no representation in Ukraine’s parliament, The Associated Press reported.
Biden met with his national security team Saturday to respond to this development, which one U.S. official described to Fox News as “deeply concerning.”
K.T. McFarland, deputy national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital that President Biden has brought the current circumstances upon himself, seemingly giving President Putin a “green light” during a press conference this week.
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“Whatever happened in Afghanistan had a ripple effect with Ukraine. Whatever is going to happen with Ukraine is going to have a ripple effect with China, but it will have a ripple effect with Iran. It’s going to have a ripple effect with North Korea because all of these countries will think they’ll seize the moment. They’ll think this is my time. America’s weak, it’s disorganized,” McFarland said.
Presidents Biden and Putin (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, Patrick Ward, Adam Sabes, and Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.
