The Pentagon, the US Army and other officials are mulling to send special forces troops to guard the newly reopened embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal said in a report.
The decision is yet to be taken as the proposal is yet to be tabled in front of US president Joe Biden but when presented it will force the Biden administration to think if taking such a decision would escalate the conflict in Russia.
The US president has ruled out sending American soldiers into Ukraine to avoid a direct conflict with Russia. However, if he approves the plan then the troops will only be responsible the defense and security of the embassy
He also has to think about the safety of American diplomats stationed there as the embassy lies within range of Russian missiles.
The Biden administration has to balance the concerns raised by some sections of the US State Department that the positioning of troops inside the US embassy could invite the ire of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The administration is also considering the aspect of evacuating diplomats if fighting breaks out again in Kyiv. Russia occasionally conducts airstrikes and shelling on Kyiv as it stutters back to normalcy.
The State Department will employ a corps of guards in the Diplomatic Security Service for the US embassy in Kyiv for now.
“We are in close touch with our colleagues at the State Department about potential security requirements now that they have resumed operations at the embassy in Kyiv,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said. “But no decisions have been made, and no specific proposals have been debated at senior levels of the department about the return of US military members to Ukraine for that or any other purpose,” he further added, according to a statement released by the Pentagon.
Officials have also discussed restoring a Marine security guard detachment which earlier provided security at embassies around the world. However, no formal proposals were sent to defense secretary Lloyd Austin, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Army General Mark Milley or US president Joe Biden.
Earlier this month, the US flag was hoisted in the US embassy in Kyiv after it reopened months after it was closed due to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Bridget Brink has been appointed as the new ambassador to Kyiv. She is yet to assume her new role.
The US State Department said that the initial contingent of American diplomatic personnel will be a small one and gradually people working in the embassy will be brought to Kyiv.
(with inputs from The Wall Street Journal)
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