The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a unique one, as far as modern international conflicts go, and that is largely due to the actions of Vladimir Putin.
Instead of legitimately justifying his incursion of the sovereign neighboring nation, Putin has simply suggested that any nation who dares to interfere with his plans will be turned into “radioactive dust” – which is the sort of threat that can freeze just about any good samaritan in their tracks.
The suggestion has kept US President Joe Biden from sending US troops into harm’s way…until now.
Plans to send U.S. forces back into Ukraine to guard the recently reopened American Embassy in Kyiv are “underway at a relatively low level,” Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday.
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that officials are mulling plans to send special forces to Kyiv to guard the U.S. Embassy. The effort is a delicate one, as it requires balancing the safety of American diplomats while avoiding what Russia could see as an escalation.
Officials tried to downplay the possibility.
“Some of the things that may have been out there in the media, those are planning efforts that are underway at a relatively low level,” Milley told reporters at the Pentagon, seeming to refer to the Journal’s report.
Such plans “have not yet made it to [Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin] or myself for that matter, for refinement of courses of action and what’s needed,” he noted.
The decision certainly runs the risk of provoking the already belligerent Putin, and could go down in history as one of Biden’s costliest maneuvers.
