Biden will address the summit of the European Council and take part in a NATO special meeting. He is expected to also emphasize efforts to enforce the avalanche sanctions that have been announced by the U.S.
“He will join with our partners in imposing additional sanctions on Russia, and tightening existing sanctions to crackdown on evasion. To ensure robust enforcement,” Jake Sullivan, White House national security advisor, said. He declined to give any further details about the new sanctions that the president will announce.
Biden will be traveling to Brussels and Poland, which have received more than 2,000,000 Ukrainian refugees since February 24, invasion. He is trying to push for continued unity between Western allies while Russia continues its brutal invasion in Ukraine.
Biden will be meeting with Andrzej Da, the Polish president, in Poland. He has asked for additional U.S. assistance and an increased military presence on NATO’s eastern flank. Already, the U.S. has added several thousand U.S. soldiers to its regular presence. In recent weeks, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have all called for an increase in NATO or U.S. military presence.
Sullivan suggested that this could happen soon, as Biden plans talks on “longer term adjustments to NATO force position on the eastern flank”.
“We believe it is the right location for him to visit in order to see troops, humanitarian experts, and be able meet with a frontline ally,” Sullivan stated about Biden’s trip to Poland.
Already, talks on troop adjustments are underway.
Last week, U.S. Defense secretary Lloyd Austin and NATO’s Brussels headquarters weighed which defenses should be built on NATO’s eastern flank. They ranged from Estonia in the North through Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and down to Bulgaria, Romania and the Black Sea.
This is an attempt to dissuade President Vladimir Putin from ordering the invasion of any of the 30 allied countries. Not only for the duration of the war, but also for the next 5-10 year. Putin demanded NATO stop expanding its east-facing forces and pull out of the conflict before it was launched. It is actually happening the opposite.
The U.S. presence has increased from 80,000 to 100,000 troops in the last two months. This is almost as many troops as there were in 1997, when the United States and its NATO allies expanded the alliance that Putin claims threatens Russia. According to Pentagon records, the United States had 350,000 troops in Europe in 1991, which was the year that the Soviet Union collapsed. This is a stark contrast to the current situation. This number dropped steadily to 101,000 in 2005, and 64,000 by 2020.
NATO and Biden have repeatedly stated that the U.S. will continue to provide military support for Ukraine and NATO will also provide weapons and other defense support. However, they want to avoid any escalation against Kyiv that could lead to a wider war with Russia.
Polish leaders called for a Western peacekeeping force to enter Ukraine. This is a move that the U.S., along with other allies, fears could lead to an increase in the conflict.
Sullivan said that Biden would also announce joint action to increase European energy security and reduce Europe’s dependence upon Russian gas.
