The soldiers transferred from the USA to Poland should also help evacuate US citizens from Ukraine in an emergency. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that he could not rule out that these military personnel could be used to some extent in evacuation assistance on the Polish side.
However, at the moment there are no efforts by military means to get Americans out of Ukraine. “There are many ways to leave Ukraine. And all of that is still in play right now,” Kirby said. The USA advises against traveling to the country, among other things because of the “increasing threat from Russian military actions” and had also reduced its diplomatic presence there.
On the orders of US President Joe Biden, the United States sent 1,700 soldiers from the United States to Poland and 300 more to Germany because of the Ukraine crisis. Many of them are already there, the rest should arrive in the coming days. According to the Pentagon, around 80,000 US soldiers are stationed in Europe. The US government has repeatedly ruled out sending soldiers to Ukraine itself.