US military forces have made preparations to enter Ukraine and fight alongside Kiev's troops against Russian forces amid soaring tensions between Russia and the US-led NATO alliance, according to a report.
CBS News reported on Friday that the US Army's elite 101st Airborne Division would not hesitate to enter Ukraine should the ongoing conflict "escalate', triggering fighting between Russian and NATO forces.
"In all, about 4,700 soldiers from the 101st Airborne's home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, have been deployed to reinforce NATO's eastern flank," CBS added. The light infantry unit is trained to deploy within hours, ready to fight.
The unit's commanders told CBS that the elite US forces were currently participating in a military drill in neighboring Romania and were prepared to cross into Ukraine if fighting in Ukraine extended to "NATO territory".
The US commanders noted that the objective of the Army's 101st Airborne Division's current deployment in Europe, the first since WWII, was “to defend NATO territory.”
"We're ready to defend every inch of NATO soil”, the unit's deputy commander Brigadier General John Lubas told CBS News.
We're "closely watching" the Russian forces, "building objectives to practice against" and conducting drills that "replicate exactly what's going on" in the war, Colonel Edwin Matthaidess, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team was quoted by CBS as saying. He added that he and his troops were currently the closest American forces to the fighting in Ukraine.
CBS News reported on Friday that the US Army's elite 101st Airborne Division would not hesitate to enter Ukraine should the ongoing conflict "escalate', triggering fighting between Russian and NATO forces.
"In all, about 4,700 soldiers from the 101st Airborne's home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, have been deployed to reinforce NATO's eastern flank," CBS added. The light infantry unit is trained to deploy within hours, ready to fight.
The unit's commanders told CBS that the elite US forces were currently participating in a military drill in neighboring Romania and were prepared to cross into Ukraine if fighting in Ukraine extended to "NATO territory".
The US commanders noted that the objective of the Army's 101st Airborne Division's current deployment in Europe, the first since WWII, was “to defend NATO territory.”
"We're ready to defend every inch of NATO soil”, the unit's deputy commander Brigadier General John Lubas told CBS News.
We're "closely watching" the Russian forces, "building objectives to practice against" and conducting drills that "replicate exactly what's going on" in the war, Colonel Edwin Matthaidess, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team was quoted by CBS as saying. He added that he and his troops were currently the closest American forces to the fighting in Ukraine.
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