US Orders Most Troops, Diplomats 160 National Guardsmen pulled from Ukraine;
skeleton crew left in Kyiv after Biden-Putin phone call produces “no fundamental change."
By Jacqueline Feldscher and Caitlin M. Kenney
February 12, 2022 10:41 AM ET
Updated 1:34 p.m. ET. U.S. officials on Saturday ordered most American military and diplomatic personnel to leave Ukraine amid concerns that a Russian invasion could happen this week. A morning phone call between President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin produced “no fundamental change" in the situation, a senior administration official told reporters.
The exodus of American and international personnel comes after Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, warned on Friday that Russia could launch a military strike “at any time” now that it has an estimated 130,000 troops surrounding Ukraine.
Over the past few months, Biden administration officials have repeatedly said they would not deploy Americans to Ukraine to face Russian troops or otherwise defend Ukraine on the ground. On Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the last contingent of American soldiers training Ukrainian troops to leave the country. The 160 soldiers from the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Florida National Guard have been serving in Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine since November. They will be temporarily moved elsewhere in Europe.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2022/02/us-orders-most-troops-diplomats-leave-ukraine/361929/
