The Pentagon ordered the deployment of at least 10,000 soldiers in Europe

The United States Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, ordered the deployment of at least 10,000 troops in the coming months to replace US Army units deployed in the European theater of operations.

“These moves are designed to respond to the current security environment. Besides, these forces are not going to fight in the Ukraine. They will support the strong defense of NATO allies”, indicated the spokesman of the Pentagon, John Kirby.

Likewise, he specified that “these deployments are replacements of units one by one”, so “the replaced units will return to their stations of origin after an adequate rotation of responsibilities”.

In February and March, Washington deployed and redeployed thousands of troops to bolster Atlantic Alliance allies.. More recently, additional aviation has been deployed, bringing the number of troops to 100,000 in the European region, as reported by ‘The Hill‘.

Austin asked his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, for an “immediate” ceasefire in Ukraine this Friday, by telephone, in what was the first conversation between the two since February 18, days before Moscow began the invasion. .

“The call itself did not solve any serious problems or lead to direct changes in what Russians do or say”, a senior US Department of Defense official told reporters.

in the conversation, Austin asked Shoigu for a ceasefire in the Ukraine, but no results.

In a brief statement, Kirby explained that Austin also emphasized to Shoigu the “importance” of keeping communication channels open. For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry specified that both have discussed “current international security issues, including the situation in Ukraine.”

In their last conversation, the head of the Pentagon called for a “de-escalation” of tensions in Ukraine, which for Washington passed for a withdrawal of Russian troops they were near the Ukrainian border.

For his part, the Russian Defense Ministry also reported on the conversation between Austin and Shoigu and specified that both discussed “current international security issues, including the situation in Ukraine.” In a statement, according to the Russian news agency interface, the Russian portfolio indicated that the conversation took place at the initiative of the American side.

The call occurs when the advance of Russian forces in Donbas against Ukrainian troops is several weeks behind schedule regarding the Kremlin’s plans, according to Washington.

(With information from Europe Press)

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