WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – U.S. President Joe Biden says he will soon deploy American military forces to Eastern Europe as part of a plan to maintain pressure on Russia amid escalating tensions over Ukraine.
“I will be moving U.S. troops to Eastern Europe in NATO countries in the near term,” Biden told reporters in Washington on Friday when asked about a timeline for doing so, adding that he had no updates on the situation in Ukraine.
The comments came despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s demand that Western leaders avoid stirring “panic”. He said Ukraine’s stability is of great significance as the U.S.’ panic-triggering alerts are placing a heavy burden on its economy.
“The greatest risk for Ukraine ... is the destabilization of the situation inside the country,” Zelenskyy added, asking, “Because of all these signals that tomorrow there will be war, there are signals even from respected leaders of states, they just say that tomorrow there will be war. This is panic — how much does it cost for our state?”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow did not want war with Ukraine. “If it is up to the Russian Federation, there will be no war. We don’t want a war,” he said.
He also said Russia had received proposals from the U.S., that were better than those it had received from NATO, however, he added that President Putin would decide how to respond to the proposals.
The top diplomat also said he expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the next couple of weeks.
The U.S. military has already placed 8,500 troops on heightened alert to prepare for deployment in Eastern Europe and bolster the NATO presence in the region following allegations about a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, a new poll has found that the majority of Americans support diplomacy, not war, with Russia as tensions continue to escalate over Ukraine.
According to the Data for Progress survey of 1,214 likely U.S. voters, 71 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of Republicans said they want the United States to pursue a diplomatic solution with Russia and avoid the path toward military conflict.
Overall, 58 percent of all respondents “somewhat” or “strongly” support the Biden administration “striking a deal with Russia to avoid war over Ukraine.”
They said the United States should be prepared to make concessions in the effort to de-escalate tensions and avoid war.
Anti-war activists rallied outside the White House on Thursday, urging Washington to tone down its belligerent war rhetoric with Russia and give peace and diplomacy a chance. The protesters called on the Biden administration to stop antagonizing Moscow, which they warned could trigger a devastating war with global ramifications.
The White House, however, has declared its intent to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia and has authorized shipments of U.S.-made weapons to Ukraine.