U.S., allies prepping for Russian invasion of Ukraine

NATO is moving more troops into Eastern Europe in a show of strength and unity as Russian troops bear down on Ukraine. The British government over the weekend accused the Kremlin of plotting a coup in the former Soviet republic. Russia said the United Kingdom was spreading misinformation, and a Ukrainian politician suspected in the plot said he was not on good terms with Moscow. Days earlier, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned four Ukrainians, including two members of parliament, for allegedly conspiring with Russia. Meanwhile, Russia has an estimated 100,000 troops stationed on its border with eastern Ukraine, and over the weekend it moved troops into Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north.

How is the United States supporting Ukraine? According to the State Department, the U.S. has committed $650 million to Ukraine in “lethal aid,” including ammunition, and has warned of severe sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine or orchestrates a coup. President Joe Biden spread confusion last week when he said at a news conference that the U.S. and its allies might disagree about how to respond to Putin’s next steps. “It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion, and then we end up having to fight about what to do and not do,” Biden said. The White House later said that by “minor incursion,” Biden meant something on the scale of a cyberattack. On Sunday, the State Department ordered the families of U.S. Embassy staff in Ukraine to return home and said nonessential personnel could leave due to the threat of Russian military action.

Dig deeper: Read Esther Eaton’s report in The Stew about the United States’ options for curbing Russian expansion.